


Invicta

by 2Lucid_dreamer8



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:21:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24788392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2Lucid_dreamer8/pseuds/2Lucid_dreamer8
Summary: Three years have passed since the last titan was killed. The Survey Corps is planning to depart on the expedition outside the walls but then a certain incident occurs and the two of the strongest soldiers have to work together to complete the mission of their own.
Relationships: Mikasa Ackerman/Levi
Comments: 51
Kudos: 165





	1. An Unexpected Mission

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my fellow Rivamika shippers,  
> It's my first ever fanfic and I am very nervous about it. Also, I'm writing it in English but it's not my mother tongue, so I guess there will be a lot of grammar mistakes. What I'm trying to say is if misspellings irritate you it is definitely not right fanfic to read.  
> So yeah, I am sorry about that. I should have learnt English harder at school  
> About fanfic: I am anime watcher only but I know about some details from the manga that I got spoiled on the internet. And I will use those spoilers in my fanfic later on.
> 
> Attack on Titan and the characters do not belong to me.

Mikasa was laying in the grass not far from the Survey Corps castle. She was looking at the sky that started to change colours due to the sunset. That deep red colour reminded her of blood. Though it's been almost three years since the last titan was killed, it turned out there were other people outside the walls which meant only one thing: there is another war waiting for them. Despite the fact that nobody wanted to fight again, especially not against the same people they are, it seemed inevitable. 

In three weeks the Survey Corps is going to depart outside wall Maria to the new expedition. For the last three years, they went scouting only twice. Both times they found nothing new, just immense fields and forests. This time they will try to find land suitable for harvesting plants and trees. And if they are lucky enough maybe they would be able to find that enormous amount of saltwater that Armin was always talking about. What did he call it? The sea? Though she did not show it, Mikasa did feel excited about this expedition.

She removed her eyes from the sky to a person whose footsteps she has just heard. Dressed in the Scout’s uniform, Eren was striding towards her. He didn't look like her little brother anymore, as years passed, he became a lot taller than her, his hair has grown long, and he had stubble on his face now. It wasn't a sweet little kid she grew up with; he is a man now. However, his eyes never changed: they reflected all the pain and suffering, determination and iron will. Even though his eyes were the deep green colour, they burned the same way the sky did.

"I was looking for you everywhere", his voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

Mikasa changed her position to a sitting one, "Did something happen?", she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, Commander Hange requested your presence after dinner", Eren answered, approaching her. "But you did not come to dinner, so I was a little worried and decided to go and find you". 

"What would Commander possibly want with me?", Mikasa muttered surprised.

Eren shrugged his shoulders, "I don’t know; she only said it was important so you should be in her office at 9 p.m.". Her brother looked at the sky, coulors of the sunset reflecting in hs eyes, "I am so glad we finally be able to see a sea. I wonder, is it that big?”, he asked, pointing his finger up at the sky.

"I don’t think it could be enormous like that. Besides, it's not our primer goal. Only after we find fertile land, we’ll be able to go for the search of the sea", she replied, almost emotionless. "And there is no guarantee we’ll find it, so don't get too excited".

"I have a feeling that this time we will achieve this little dream of ours", he smiled, shutting his eyes, "And you know, I am grateful for all three of us made it this far".

"Yeah" was her only reply. But she thought about Armin’s burnt body on the roof of one of the houses in Shiganshina District. And then the image of Captain Levi holding syringe became clear in front of her eyes. She felt anger gathering up inside her stomach, though she understood how important Commander Erwin was, she also knew that Armin’s role in humanity’s victory was not smaller. At that moment she could not think of anything but to take the syringe by force, but it was not an easy task. Even at his weakest, Captain Levi was still stronger than her. She has always wandered what made him this strong. Eren’s words were ringing in her head: 'And you know, I am grateful for all three of us made it this far'. In truth be told, if it wasn’t for Captain, they all would probably be dead right now: he saved her from Annie in the Giant tree forest, he saved Eren countless times during missions and his titan shifter training, and even in the court, and of course, he saved Armin that day on the roof. To this day she had no idea what made him change his mind and choose Armin over Commander. Since that day she began to trust and respect him, though, she will never admit it aloud.

She was ripped out from her thoughts to reality by Eren's voice, "Mikasa, I think it’s time for you to go to Commander Hange," he reminded her, watching the last rays of the sun vanishing from the sky.

"Yes, see you then", she replied, standing up and making her way towards the HQ. As Mikasa was slipping inside, she caught a glimpse of Eren, staring at the wall.

The Survey Corps headquarters were big for such a small amount of people. A few years ago, it was full of soldiers, but now there were only a few of them left. After the battle of Shiganshina, the only ones who survived were Levi’s squad, Floch and Hange. A few months later, a bunch of trainees joined the Scouts. Presently there were 76 people in the Survey Corps, which comparing to the Garrison or The Military Police was a very small number. 

The castle consisted of three main parts: left-wing, right-wing and the tower. Barracks were locted at the left-wing. Inside the right-wing were training rooms, dining room and kitchen. And the tower wasn’t actually a tower, it was simply the central part of the building, which was a bit taller than the other two: there were offices of the squad leaders and Commander Hange herself.

Mikasa was deep in her thoughts when she finally reached the door she needed. She knocked a few times before receiving permission to come in.

It was almost dark outside, so the office was lit by a few candles. To her surprise, apart from Hange, there was also Captain Levi. He was sitting in front of Commander with his legs crossed and his face impression pissed. Next to him was an empty chair, which, she assumed, was prepared for her. Hange had her glasses on and it made Mikasa suspect Commander was reading something before. Though they both lived in one castle, Mikasa hasn’t seen Hange recently; the reason for this were probably responsibilities on her shoulders as a Commander of the Survey Corps. Hange looked tired with the dark circle under her only eye. However, she drew a huge smile on her face the moment she raised her head to see Mikasa. Levi turned his head, and his impression suddenly became confused only for a split second, before changing back to grim. 

"Hello there, Mikasa", Hange shouted in her crazy manner. 

"Commander Hange, Captain Levi", Mikasa greeted both of them, pressing a right fist to her chest.

Commander chuckled, "There is no need for such formalities, you know", she said with a warm smile on her face.

Captain scoffed, "Tch. It’s only normal for a soldier to greet her superiors properly", he replied before Mikasa could.

"Said a man who calls his Commander 'four eyes'", Hange frowned.

"But I still obey your orders, don't I?", Levi said, without any emotion in his voice.

Commander hummed, "Not at all. You didn’t let me break your finger to see if it's going to heal quicker on you than on the average human", she protested.

"It wasn’t an order but a stupid demand from an insane scientist", Captain complained. 

"You are such a crybaby, Levi", Hange said with a smirk. It was clear she wanted to irritate him.

Levi rolled his eyes, "That's enough, shitty glasses. Let’s get down to business. Why are we here?", he asked, pointing his finger first on himself and then on Mikasa. 

Commander impression suddenly became serious. "That’s right. Please, Mikasa, take a sit", she said, glancing on a chair.

Mikasa did as she was said. From where she was sitting she could catch a glimpse of the journal under Hange’s forearm, it was titled ”List of the Walls Worshipers in the Stohess district”. "So, Commander Hange, how can I serve you?", Mikasa asked, wandering why was she here.

"Well, where to start?", Hange shifted in her chair, "Do you remember pastor Nick?", she glanced at Ackermans as they both nodded in unison. "As you know, he was the head of the Walls Worshipers church, and three years ago he was killed by the Interior Squad. So after his death, someone had to take over his position. For two years it was his right-hand man who was leading the church but then, out of nowhere, appeared a certain man named Idan Reybot, who claimed the position of pastor. Worshipers liked him and followed all of his preachings. It has been nearly a year since he became a hea..." 

"Goddammit, four eyes, it takes you ages. Go for the main part already. What about this man?", Captain interrupted with an irritation written on his face.

"I was about to go for the main part", Hange responded angrily as Levi rolled his eyes. "About a three months ago a certain incident brought my attention to him" Commander continued, "A soldier of the Military Police has been slaughtered while on his watch. Moreover, his killers were interrogating him before he died. All of it wouldn’t matter a thing if he wasn’t the same soldier who investigated your parent's death, Mikasa", Hange ended her speech a little bit nervous. Mikasa clenched her jaws as she heard about her parents but said nothing nodding only for Commander to continue. 

"What does it have to do with the Worshipers anyway? Hange, you really suck in telling stories. I don’t have time to listen to some pig’s slaughter", said Levi, breaking the silence, "I want tea". 

"Well if you’d just shut up and didn’t comment my every sentence, we’d be done already", Hange responded with slight anger in her voice.

"Can you just continue, Commander, please?", Mikasa interrupted them before they started a new quarrel.

"Yes. So this soldier’s squadmate noticed his absence on their meeting spot and went to find him. He was roaming the streets when suddenly heard a commotion between two houses at the end of the alley. When he hurried there, he caught a glimpse of three hooded figures towering over something on the ground. When they noticed him, one of them pulled a knife out of his belt and swung it right down at something that was lying there. After that they started running away. He wanted to chase after them, but then he saw his friend’s body. The only evidence that they left were parts of the necklace on the ground. It seemed that the soldier tore it when they struggled, and they had no time to collect it. The beads from the chain were pointing to only one answer: Worshipers killed that soldier because they are the only ones who wear jewels with the three walls symbols", Hange stopped talking to hear some reply, but she didn’t get one. So she continued, "As I said earlier, that incident brought my attention to Idan Reybot, and I started looking for a spy who could infiltrate into his sermons. But it was harder than I thought, and as three weeks passed, I gave up and started to think why would I care about some Military Police soldier. After all, it could be merely a coincidence that he was the one who investigated your parent's death. But something just didn’t feel right".

Hange shifted in her chair, "And then a few days later I got a letter from Commander of the Military Police Brigade, Nile Dok. It said that his wife was waiting for him at some random bar and overheard a conversation between two men in black cloaks and an owner of the establishment. They were asking him different questions about Levi Ackerman. Such as: ”How did he look?”, ”How quick he was?”, ”How many people did you see he killed?”, and so on. After bar owner said he would not answer these questions, they started threatening him. But then Nile came in the bar, and they quickly left. Later that day, the owner was found dead".

"Just another guy who wants me dead. As always, nothing new", Levi said rolling his eyes.

"You’ll take it seriously after you hear the main part of the story" Hange responded; "You see, after the latter incident, I finally found a person, suitable for spying on the pastor Idan. It’s my childhood friend, who is going under the name of Lisa, during this mission of ours. She infiltrated the church about a month ago, and now she goes to perishes. Things she discovered are mindblowing, and you won't like it", said Commander, looking at the Ackermans. "Idan’s point of view is entirely different from that of ours; he preaches about the real reason walls were built. And this reason is to protect us not from titans, but other people. So he believes that we should attack Marleyans as soon as possible. You see, there was a meeting of the government a few days ago, and he, as a representative of the church, was invited of course. Without losing time, he suggested to mobilise all the men and women from 12 to 55 years old and train them to fight humans. Naturally, it was declined. After the meeting, he gathered all of the church supporters and partly announced his plan. He said he was expecting for his suggestion to be declined, and he didn’t seem to worry about it much. According to him, rejecting this, the government only gave him a reason to put his plan into action finally". 

"So what is his plan?”, Mikasa asked impatiently. 

"Well, he is going to create an army of his own", Commander answered with a serious impression on her face as she was staring at the two of them.

"That’s bullshit. How is he going to do that?", Levi said indifferently.

"With your help", Hange responded, pointing her finger on the both of them. 

"It’s almost made me laugh", Captain replied, "Is he really that stupid? How does he want to make us cooperate?"

"That’s why I told you he announced his plan only partly", Hange said, "We still do not know what he needs you two for. But it is obvious he gathered some intel about you. That bar owner is the same man who saw you in action, Levi, when you were chased by Kenny. So, as you see, Idan clearly needs your superhuman abilities. If we’d only knew why".

"Is there something else you know about him?", Levi asked.

"Well, in truth be told we know very little about him because he does not want to tell everyone in the church about the details of his plan. He has a close circle of his henchmen with whom he discusses all of his dirty deeds", Hange looked disappointed, "Nevertheless, we do know one thing: two nights before the expedition he will try to abduct both of you".

"Is he certain he can do that? I mean, there is no way he would be able to do it unnoticed here, in our castle", Mikasa said before realising: "Wait, isn’t it the same time when the Survey Corps and the residents of Wall Rose will celebrate our departure?"

"You are right, and it’s the perfect time to kidnap someone, don't you agree? There will be a lot of commotion, so nobody will pay much attention if you two disappear", Hange said, adjusting her glasses.

"So what do you want us to do? What are your orders?", Captain Levi asked, crossing his arms.

"You will not go on the expedition with us; you will work together in the Stohess District, gathering information about Idan Reybot and, if possible, capture him. We have to find out what he means under 'creation of the army with your help'", Hange looked at Mikasa, waiting for an answer.

A moment later Mikasa realized why Commander was staring at her. "But it means Eren will be alone outside the walls", she stated loudly, "No, I can't do it. I have to go with him", she increased her voice even more. She knew very well that she was breaking the rules by shouting on her superiors but they just didn't understand.

"Calm down, Ackerman, I am not happy with this mission either, but it’s better to face it now than come back from the expedition and find out that the coup d’état took place within the walls. Besides, Eren will not be alone, but with the Survey Corps. Now suppress your anger, soldier, or you’ll get detention", Captain snapped. 

Mikasa didn't even hear everything Captain was saying, she was simply drowning in her thoughts about Eren being alone outside the walls. "But I have to protect Eren; he is the..." She never had a chance to finish her sentence as Captain kicked the chair she was sitting on. She heard a crack of wood before she started falling to her left side where Levi was sitting. To prevent her from falling on him, he put his leg under her chair so that his knee was on the same spot where the chair’s leg used to be. She didn’t have time to realise what just happened when Captain’s face appeared only a few inches away from hers.

"I told you to shut up and listen to Hange. It seems you are dreaming about shovelling horse shit for the next three weeks, aren’t you?", Levi asked sarcasticly. He was so close she could feel his breath on her lips.

This time she heard him completely. It was indeed true that she has to obey Commander's orders, because if she doesn't go on a mission with Captain, she'll be a desrter. And this is even worse because that way she'll be kicked out of the Survey Corps and won't be able to protect Eren at all. The rational thinking calmed her down a little, though Captain's action with her chair were still angering her. But for the Eren's sake, she has to tolerate her annoying superior. "I do not want detention”, Mikasa finally replied, through gritted teeth. Captain nodded with approval and leaned back to his previous position.

"Now, Hange, tell us what your plan is", Levi asked, moving his gaze from Mikasa to Commander.

"Sorry, Mikasa, sometimes he is a bit impatient. But you probably know this already", Hange smiled, "Now back to business. Your mission is to find out about this army of Idan’s. And if it's something serious that posses a threat to humanity, you have to take him down", both of the Ackermans nodded in reply. "So you should let them kidnap you, but then before arriving in the Stohess District, you will free yourself and run away. After all of this, act as you see fit but find out what this bastard is about to achieve". 

"But why should we let ourselves be kidnapped?", Mikasa asked wandering.

"Because if we will be waiting for them, it's going to be obvious that we know about their intentions. And, eventually, it will put Lisa, or whatever her name is, in danger. So we'll try not to resist them much, thereby pretending we are not that strong. It will make them put their guard down, so on the road a few miles away from our destination, we will free ourself and run somewhere to the woods so they will not be able to find us. Sooner or later, they’ll give up on searching for us and return to Stohess. Idan will expect us to run away back to the Survey Corps castle but we will simply move to Stohess. He will definitely not be able to predict that we are hiding right under his nose", Captain explained.

"Exactly. So you are not that dumb after all", Hange said mockingly. "As for the forest; there is one a few miles away from Stohess. I suppose the kidnappers will ride through the woods and it's going to be a perfect opportunity for you to run away". 

A few minutes passed, and nobody was saying a word, so Hange broke the silence, "The Survey Corps has to go on the expedition because it was planned half a year ago and it would look suspicious to Idan if we do not leave, so everything depends on you two now. You survived fighting titans, so I have no doubts you’ll survive humans", she stated confidently, "But I wonder, will you be able not to kill each other while working together?" 

The Ackermans looked at one another but said nothing. Levi turned his head back to Hange, "So, is that all? Can I go now? I want tea".

"Yes, you are free to go", Hange answered. But to her surprise, he didn’t move. "What is it?"

"You see, there is a lady sitting on the chair I suppurt with my knee. If I stand up, she'll fall", Levi said with an irritation in his voice, he scowled saying word 'lady'.

Mikasa felt her cheeks turning red and tried desperately to prevent it; she totally forgot about that. "Well, the problem is that you are the exact person who broke my chair, so what are you complaining about?"

"Get up, Ackerman, I don’t have time for you", Captain snarled. He sounded angry though his face never showed that. He waited a few seconds for her to stand up, but she never did. "Well then, as you wish", he strained his leg and kicked the chair one more time. But Mikasa was on her feet already, and he kicked an empty chair instead which flew to the wall behind them.

"Dammit, get out of here before you kill one another. Or even worse, me!", Hange screamed.

Mikasa saluted, "Goodnight, Commander Hange", she walked towards the door.

"Do not bother me anymore, four eyes", Levi said, following his subordinate to the exit.

"Goodnight, Ackermans", Hange replied. She looked at the wasted chair next to the wall. "You will be the death of me", she sighed when both of them were gone already.


	2. Detention

After they left Commander’s office, Ackermans found themselves in a corridor, slightly lit by the moon. They started walking in the direction of barracks. Mikasa was striding a few steps ahead patiently waiting for her superior to say something offensive to continue their little fight. But to her surprise and relief, he didn’t say a word. She was almost sure that the reason for Captain’s silence was the same man who stuck in her head too.

They were walking for a few minutes now but Mikasa had no idea in what part of the castle she was. The Survey Corps headquarters were unrecognisable at night and that was the reason why she felt disorientated. Unlike her, it seemed Captain knew every corner of this castle both at day and the night, so she decided to follow his lead.

Though it was divided into men's and women’s, both of their bedrooms were located in the same left-wing of the castle. If her assumptions were correct, they have just entered the hallway at the end of which was a fork that should lead them separate ways. Slowly approaching the spot where they were supposed to split up, Mikasa heard her stomach started growling. Only then she realised how hungry she was for she didn’t have a bite since lunch. Considering the silence surrounding them, she was positive Captain heard that as well, but again he said nothing.

As they were passing by the window, Mikasa looked at the moon that fought its way through the clouds. "What time is it now?", she realised the silence was broken by that question, though she didn’t mean to ask this aloud.

As Captain turned his head towards her, for the first time Mikasa saw his face in the moonlight. She knew his features very well. Captain wasn’t the person who changes face expression often, that’s why he always looked the same be it a dinner or a fight. But the moment she caught a glimpse of him, she subconsciously held her breath. His skin, which has always been pale, now looked almost aristocratic in a combination with his subtle facial features. Also, his irises changed colour from cold steel to warm silver as the moon was reflecting in the dark abyss of his pupils. "Around midnight. Why?", he said, not understanding the reason her eyes went wide.

Mikasa was caught off guard because she didn’t mean asking that question, and even more so she didn't want to stare at him. Intentionally, at least. The girl couldn’t find a proper answer, "Just asking", she mumbled. Mikasa scolded herself in her thoughts: 'Why would she looked at him that way? He was an emotionless jerk whom she hated not that long ago'. She expected Captain to say something, but he didn’t once again, so they continued walking in silence.

She was deep in her thoughts when they finally reached the end of the hallway where Mikasa and her captain had to split up. They both stopped, facing each other, she realised he was waiting for a salute, so she raised her right fist to her heart and said: "Goodnight, Captain Levi".

He said nothing just nodded, then turned around and strode to the men's barracks. Mikasa stood there, watching darkness swallowing him and waiting for the sound of his steps to disappear. Her stomach growled again, which reminded her how hungry she was. Despite knowing that it was a few hours after curfew and soldiers are not supposed to roam the castle, Mikasa was sure she would not be able to fall asleep with an empty stomach. When there was no sound of Captain's footsteps anymore, she sighed with relief and change her way to the opposite side of the building. 'Sneaking to the kitchen in the middle of the night, how pitiful,' she thought to herself, 'If Sasha finds out I am going to steal the food, she will never forgive me for not taking her with me'.

After Historia became the queen, Mikasa and Sasha were the only female members left in Levi's Squad. Thinking about a potato girl made her smile; she didn’t like Sasha at first, but as years passed, they became pretty good friends. Mikasa wondered if Sasha felt that nervous every time, she was stealing some meat.

She reassured herself by the fact that considering four years of sneaking out Sasha was caught only once, Mikasa’s chances of being seen were pretty much equal to zero. But then again, it was Captain Levi who spotted Sasha, and as a punishment, he halved all of her breakfasts and dinners for the year. It didn't seem to be that bad for everybody else but for a potato girl it was one of the worst nightmares. 

No matter how to look at it, Captain did know his subordinates' personalities; for every member of his squad he had their own detention: for Jean, it was cleaning the toilets because he couldn’t stand its smell; Connie was forced to look after horses, as he was afraid of them; he forbade Eren training in his titan form and made him improving his skills with the 3DM gear, which Eren hated from the beginning of them being in the Cadet Corps. She and Armin were the only ones who didn’t break the rules, until now at least, so she had no idea what kind of punishment Captain would prepare for her.

Mikasa caught herself thinking about her annoying superior once again when she finally found the door that led to a dining room. Those thoughts were driving her crazy, so she tried desperately to kick them off of her head. Mikasa opened the door as quietly as possible, wondering why wouldn’t they lock it. She entered the room, but it was pitch-black. She knew that to get to the kitchen, she will first have to pass the dining room, which is the same as going through the labyrinth of tables and chairs. Mikasa tried to remember how all the furniture was located and slowly started moving towards the kitchen. A couple of kicked tables and chairs, moved out of its place, and she was at her destination. If she remembered correctly, a few steps in front of her should be a table, with candles and matches on it. Mikasa began searching for the objects she needed by touch, and a few seconds later she found something that resembled matches in shape.

After candles were lit and her sight was back, she wasted no time and started looking for food. Mikasa was opening shelves one by one until she found a loaf of bread and some butter. At the sight of food, her stomach growled again, so she quickly grabbed her lunch and the knife, and went to the dining room to sit at the table. The moment Mikasa started spreading butter on the bread, she heard the door opening up and then: "Blouse, I swear to God, I will shut you in the cell and see how long you’ll live without any foo...Ackerman? What the hell are you doing here?", Captain sounded surprised, though his face was as emotionless as always.

Mikasa dropped the knife from her hand. Out of all superior officers in this castle why it should have been him who spotted her? "Captain...why are you here?", she asked in confusion. She was angry and maybe even a little afraid but desperately tried not to show that.

"I asked you the same damn question a few seconds ago. It seems you have problems with hearing", Captain growled. He was still wearing his uniform but his jacket was missing, also he had something in his hand. When he came close enough for her to see what that was, Mikasa realized how unbelievably stupid she was. He was holding a bag of tea; she bowed her head down to hide her frustration. A few minutes ago, when they were sitting in Commander’s office, Captain has repeatedly spoken about tea. How could she forgot about it?

Mikasa calmed herself down; she knew there is no way he’ll let her go without punishment, so she believed that acting polite and trying not to make the situation even worse is her best option. "I skipped the dinner, that's why I decided to go get something to eat, sir", she said firmly though her heartbeat was accelerating.

Something in her words caught his attention, and she noticed him hesitating for a split second. "So you are telling me that Mikasa Ackerman, the girl worth one hundred soldiers and one of the strongest humans inside the walls is stealing bread? Did the Blouse brat bite you? I had suspicions she is contagious", her superior said with a straight face.

Mikasa tried her best not to laugh at his question. "Nobody bit me, sir. I was hungry, that's all", she explained, standing up from her chair.

He looked at her with his piercing gaze but said nothing. She couldn’t read him; it was obvious he was annoyed by her company but this was his usual state and it was just one of a few emotions she ever saw on his face. She had no idea whether he was angry or tired or didn’t care at all. Nevertheless, she started walking towards the exit, hoping he will not scold her anymore and just give her detention tomorrow.

"Where do you think you are going?", he suddenly spoke, making his way to a kitchen. "I did not dismiss you, did I?"

"No, sir. You didn’t", she replied, scolding herself for being stupid enough to break the rules. A few minutes ago, she wondered what kind of punishment would Captain give her if he catches her. It looked like she will find out soon.

"In that case, go back to your bread", he said, taking one of the candles from the table.

His words took her by surprise. Why didn’t he kick her out of there? Maybe he will give her detention right after making his tea? Mikasa had so many questions in her head, but she realized that by doing everything he says is the best way not to piss him off. She took her previous position at the table and tried to take a look at what Captain was doing. He started a fire and was busy pouring water in the kettle. Mikasa did not dare to start a conversation, so she went back to her bread.

Few minutes passed when Capitan brought the kettle with two teacups and put it on the same table she was sitting at. She was surprised but didn’t say anything, following him with her eyes.

"So, what kind of detention do you want?", Captain spoke after he finished pouring the tea in cups.

"It doesn’t matter what I say, you’ll pick the one you like, sir", she answered, moving her gaze from the tea to his eyes, that changed to cold steel once again.

"Oh, I see, so you are sharp enough to assume that, but at the same time, dumb enough to break the rules", he said indifferently, moving one cup towards her.

Mikasa felt anger burning her from inside; she clenched her fists without even realizing it. She wanted to punch him so badly, but common sense won as she forced herself to talk: "Thank you. But are you sure you want to spend your precious tea on me? Or maybe you poisoned it?"

Captain did not change his facial expression even a little bit, but Mikasa was positive she saw a spark in his eyes. "So, you’ve stopped using my title at the end of your every sentence", he stated, raising a cup to his lips. Now she understood, a few minutes ago that was the word that caught his attention. She has never thought about him being so observant. "It seems you are the one who would be happy to do that to me. But no, it's not poisoned. See?", he sipped his tea.

"What makes you think I want to kill you?", she asked, reaching for the cup. Her anger slowly turning into curiosity.

"You hate me, don’t you? Since the day I beat the shit out of Eren", Captain shifted in his chair, "But as you see, we have to work together now, so I suggest you put all your grudge against me aside. Otherwise, we will not be able to cooperate".

She knew everything he said was true. "I did hate you. But why do you think I still do?", she sipped the tea and was pleasantly surprised by its taste.

"You look at me like I am the biggest threat to humanity, or maybe to Eren in particular?", he narrowed his eyes.

Does she look at him often? She did not notice it. Mikasa felt the heat on her cheeks, "Well, you do keep kicking him from time to time. And not only him but Armin and Jean and Connie", she looked him straight in the eyes.

"They deserve it", he shrugged his shoulders.

"Didn’t I deserve it when you injured your ankle because of me?", she asked, looking at his left leg.

For a moment she thought he looked embarrassed, but it was probably just her imagination. "Maybe", he was looking at her with those cold eyes, "What? Do you want me to kick you?", he raised his eyebrow, "Well, that’s not a problem. I can surely do that".

"No, your arrogant attitude is more than enough punishment for all of us", she answered, waiting for his reaction.

"The pot calling the kettle back," Levi said, observing a cup in his hand.

"What do you mean?", she asked, wondering what is he talking about.

"Ask Kirstein", he answered. She could swear for a brief moment there was a hint of a smile in his expression. It was so weird for her to see another emotion on his face, that she kept repeating that image in her mind. She saw Captain smiling only once, but now it was more of a smirk than a smile. "Do I have a stain on my face or something?", he asked, taking his cup.

He caught her staring. Again. "What? No. I am sorry, sir", she felt embarrassed.

He was sipping his tea, but when she pronounced the last word in her sentence, he locked his eyes with hers. It was clear that he liked it, but Mikasa didn’t understand why would he enjoy being called by his rank if everybody else in the Survey Corps respected him enough to address him by 'sir'.

"I think I figured out what your detention will be", he told her, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

He snapped her out of her thoughts. She said nothing only raised her eyebrows as if asking him what her punishment will be.

He leaned on his elbows and looked her dead in the eyes, "You will follow me and obey every damn order I give you during our mission. Don’t try acting alone or do something reckless. Understood?"

"But...", she wasn’t able to end her sentence.

"No buts. You broke the rules, and as a result, you received detention. There is no other options for you, Ackerman. Therefore, spare your complaints", he said before finishing his tea.

Mikasa had mixed feelings, so she didn’t know how to react or what to respond. She knew he chose this punishment not by accident, but because she was famous for not obeying his orders. On the other hand, Captain was probably the best superior officer to follow when it came to fights. After a few moments of silence, Mikasa cleared her thoughts and said: "Yes, sir. I will obey your orders".

"Good. Now clean that up and then go to sleep, Ackerman", he said and then stood up from the chair and made his way to the exit. Captain stopped before walking through the door, "And don’t forget to tell Jaeger that you are not going on the expedition. He will make a scene, so do it privately; there is no need for everybody to know about our mission. Tell Arlert too; he is the only one of the three of you who thinks rationally". After those words he disappeared behind the closed door.

At the sound of his name, Mikasa remembered about her brother. It was weird for her not to think about Eren for so long. 'Tomorrow is going to be a tough day', she said to herself as she cleaned the table from the dishes.

A few minutes passed after she put out candles and finally was walking back to her bedroom. However strange it may be, Captain was in her head once again. She knew nothing about her superior, and in truth be told, she has never cared about it. But now, when they were supposed to spend some time together, she wanted to learn something about his past. The only thing she knew about him was his last name being the same as hers. She wondered if they were related by blood, but as far as she knew, her father didn’t have siblings. Though, it wouldn’t be impossible if he simply didn’t want to tell his little daughter that he had a brother who was a mass murderer.

Mikasa stopped walking when she realized that deep in her mind she was hoping not to be related to Captain. She tried to convince herself that the reason for it was because he is an arrogant and annoying moron. But when the real cause struck her, she dropped her jaw and widened her eyes. 'No, no, no, you are being naïve and childish', she said to herself. 'Throw this dirty thought out of your head', she started walking again, completely astonished by her own way of thinking.

The girl was deep in her thoughts when she finally reached her bedroom. Compared to Commander Hange’s office, her room was tiny. There was no other furniture than a bed, dresser and a door that led to a bathroom. A few years ago she shared a room with Sasha, but after the battle of Shiganshina, the Survey Corps numbers fell to only nine survivors, and as a result everybody got their own bedrooms.

It was dark but Mikasa knew her room well, so without breaking a sweat, she went to her bed where her neatly folded pyjamas were. She wanted to sleep so badly but she had to shower at first.

She was thinking about a conversation with Eren that should take place tomorrow, as warm water started flowing down her body. She stood in the shower for a few minutes but didn’t come up with the right words to say to her brother. Now she realized why Captain advised her to tell Armin too because he was the only one who could find the right words to say. After the shower, Mikasa put on her pyjamas and hurried to the cold bed. She slipped under the blanket, and to her surprise, for the first time in a few years, her last thoughts, before sleep took her over, weren’t about Eren but Captain.

Mikasa woke up later than she always does, but it was still early in the morning and the sun was just rising. She got up from the comfortable bed and stretched out her body. She was dressing up and simultaneously predicting Eren’s reaction when he’ll find out about her not going on the expedition. She knew he’d be mad no matter what words she’ll choose to tell him. The only thing she could hope for was that Armin would help her make Eren understand her current situation.

She was so busy preparing for a conversation in her head that she didn't notice how much time had passed. She was late for breakfast, and so she flew out of the room like a bullet, didn't even bothering to make her bed.

When she arrived at the dining room, all of her teammates were already there. All of them were sitting at the same table where she and Captain sat yesterday at night. They were fooling around, making loud noises which meant that their superior was not there. She spotted two of her friends and hurried to join them.

"You're late", Eren noticed, "Thank God Captain is not here yet or you’d be already scolded. Here, we took you some soup", he smiled warmly.

"Thanks", she answered quietly and started eating her meal. Everybody was laughing at Sasha shoving bread in her pocket when Jean suddenly cried: "Heads up, Captain Levi is coming". 

Sasha jumped, accidentally punching Connie with an elbow to his chin. "What was that for?", Connie yelled, rubbing the spot she hit.

"Ackerman", everybody went quiet when they heard their superior’s voice.

Mikasa stood up and took saluting position: "Yes, sir", she was wondering what could he possibly want with her.

"Training ground. Today at sunset", he said, observing his team. "Blouse, take the bread out of your pocket", he left after Sasha did as she was ordered.

After the door behind their Captain closed, all of her squadmates’ attention was on her. Five pairs of eyes full of curiosity, were staring at Mikasa. Jean was the first who started talking: "How? I was begging Captain to spar with me from the moment I got to his team and he keeps refusing. That's unfair".

Eren couldn’t lose such an opportunity: "Well maybe it's because you are too weak for him?", he smirked. "Mikasa is simply stronger than you".

Jean wanted to respond but Sasha was quicker: "In fact, she is stronger than everybody in our team. Even you, Eren".

"Yes, but still it doesn't change the fact that her opponent is going to be Captain", Armin said thoughtfully.

"It will be interesting to watch", Connie suddenly stood up from his chair, "We should go and support Mikasa".

"Yeah, remember in the Cadet Corps when Mikasa was fighting Annie but then instructor interrupted? I bet, this time nobody would dare to stop the spar", Sasha sounded excited, "Who else is coming to watch the epic battle? I’ll bring the food".

All of her squadmates nodded in unison. Mikasa was watching her friends and didn’t understand why were they doing such a big deal out of nothing.

"Isn’t it weird? I mean, for all the years of being in the Survey Corps, I have never seen Captain training with soldiers", Eren said, "Don’t get me wrong, I am glad for you, but what was the reason for his sudden change of heart?"

"Eren, Armin, can we talk privately? I will explain everything", Mikasa whispered, "We should go for a walk".

"But you barely touched your food", Armin objected. "Besides, you skipped dinner yesterday".

"It’s alright. I am not hungry", she reassured him. "Come on; I have to tell you something".

The three of them stood up and left their friends discussing the upcoming spar. Mikasa needed them to go outside so nobody else could hear their conversation. The moment they went outside, fresh air intruded their lungs. The view of the rising sun was so beautiful that for a moment Mikasa forgot why she took them out in the first place.

"Did something happen? What is it all about?", Eren asked bewildering.

"Yeah, you are scaring us, Mikasa", Armin confirmed.

Their questions brought her back to reality. She couldn’t find the right words to say, "I am not going on the expedition", was all she managed to came up with.

"What do you mean? Why?", Eren couldn’t believe his ears.

"But...the sea", Armin muttered almost inaudible.

"I am going on a mission to Stohess with Captain Levi. Commander Hange told me yesterday", she explained.

"That's bullshit. Why would she choose you and why at the same time as the expedition? I need to talk to her", Eren was visibly angry about it.

"It’s complicated, and I can’t tell you all of the details because it's confidential. The only thing I can tell you is that I’ll depart during our celebration two nights before the expedition", Mikasa tried to justify herself.

"Dammit, why would you agree to this? Don’t you want to see the sea? Can’t Captain do it alone or take someone else as his partner? Can’t it wait?", Eren would probably complain more if Armin didn’t interrupt him.

"It’s okay, Eren, there is no guarantee we will find a sea", Armin began calming him down, "Besides, there will be plenty of other expeditions the three of us can go on to. As you see, it was an order from Commander; it's not Mikasa’s fault. Moreover, you know that Mikasa is one of the strongest soldiers in the Survey Corps, which means she is irreplaceable. In my opinion, it can’t wait; after all, if the two strongest people are sent on the mission, it should be something serious".

"I want to go with you on the expedition. Do you think I am happy about the fact that I will have to spend a lot of time with our shorty? He will probably make me clean all of the Stohess district, and the wall around it too", Mikasa said, only half kidding.

Eren smiled a little, "Maybe you are right, but it was our dream since we were kids. I wish you were there with us when we find it".

"I will be, the next time", she smiled at her friends.

"We will miss you", Armin said, lowering his gaze.

"I’m going to miss you too", Mikasa responded. She hugged both of them. It’s going to be the first time they will not be on the expedition together. From the time Wall Maria fell, they were inseparable from each other.


	3. A Spar

Captain Levi has been sitting in his office since breakfast, desperately trying to finish the remaining two piles of paperwork with his mind roaming somewhere else. Normally, he would think about the upcoming mission, but instead there was a certain brat haunting his thoughts. He didn’t sleep well last night. Not that he ever got enough sleep; Levi had insomnia since the time he joined the Survey Corps. However, this time the reason for his sleepless night was a girl. Mikasa Ackerman was one of the best soldiers inside the walls, though she had quite bad temper. Her skills were flawless when it came to slaying titans, but killing people is completely different. He wasn’t happy with a fact that most likely she would have to fight people now, but that was just what they had to do. Last night, having thought over all possible options for the outcome of their mission, he came to the conclusion that he would train her.

Despite the fact that she was in his squad for a few years now, he knew little about her. She was a ruthless warrior when her brother needed to be protected but at any other time Ackerman was just a gloomy brat. It seemed, Mikasa hated Levi or didn’t like him, at least. And she was proving it every time she disobeyed him. In truth be told, her behaviour amazed him; and the reason for it was probably because except for her, every single person in the Survey Corps looked at him with respect and fear. As it seemed, she was one of a very few people who had guts to stand a ground against him. And her stubbornness was the exact reason why he wasn’t sure whether his decision to train her was right. But it was too late to think about it, because, judging by the view from the window, sun has already started to go down and Mikasa was probably waiting for him.

Standing up from a chair, Levi stretched his body and made his way to a wardrobe. Thanks to his meticulousness, he found his training clothes in a matter of a few moments. He undressed and fought desperately with the idea of taking a shower. The only thing that stopped him from doing so was his punctuality. He folded his uniform neatly on the desk and checked if there wasn’t any stain on it. After making sure everything was clean enough, he put on his shorts and a tank top.

Levi felt strange because he used to train early in the morning when no one was around. After a few minutes of unexpected memories hitting him he finally came to his senses and realized that he hasn’t sparred in years. The bitter truth was that there were no remaining veteran soldiers left except for him and Hange. All of his friends were dead for a long time now and he often wondered when will his death come. The sad thoughts were suddenly gone as a warm ray of the setting sun made its way through the window and touched his face. With a realization that it's probably very hot outside, he took a towel from a wardrobe, grabbed a bottle of water and made his way to the door.

Levi was walking lazily through the cold corridors of the castle. Stone walls kept the temperature pretty low inside and that was the reason why he liked walking there on warm summer evenings. The thought of the unbearable heat outside made him roll his eyes, not to mention the fact that he will have to spar in such hot weather. The Ackerman brat probably had some influence on him because he had never trained a soldier before. All the thoughts left his head the moment he opened the door and ridiculously warm air intruded his lungs. Thinking about how much he hates the heat Levi closed the door behind him and walked to the training ground with an irritating look on his face.

The realisation of his stupid act came to him the moment he saw all the members of his squad sitting on the grass in the shade of a tree a few meters away from the hard ground of the training field. He definitely shouldn’t have said that in front of everyone. "So, what are you, a bunch of slackers, doing here?" Levi asked, coming closer to them.

Most likely they didn’t notice him approaching judging by the way their bodies twitched the moment they heard his voice. His subordinates were looking at each other for a few seconds before Connie finally said: "We came to see the two of you fighting, Captain". Everyone else nodded their heads, confirming what was just said.

"I have always wondered how did you manage to survive through all the shit we have been through, Springer. It wasn’t because of your brain, was it?", Levi asked, putting his towel and water on the grass. Answer didn’t come but he heard Eren and Jean trying to hold a laugh. "For the long four years of service, you should have learnt the difference between the fight and a spar", he looked at his team and realized that one of them was missing. "Where is Ackerman?"

Eren wanted to say something but he got interrupted by the voice that came from behind Levi’s back: "Right here, Captain". He turned his head and saw Mikasa walking leisurely. She had a bottle of water and a pair of bandages in her hand.

"Looks like aside from sparring I need to teach you a lesson of terminology. Do you know what word ‘punctuality’ means?", Levi asked with a steady voice. 

"I do know. And as a matter of fact, I am not late, the sun is still going down", Mikasa answered calmly, pointing her finger at the horizon. "You could have said the exact time not ‘at sunset’, cause that’s an extensive concept", she said before sitting down on the grass near a tree. Mikasa put her bottle of water on the ground and started bandaging her fists.

She managed to surprise him every time with those sarcastic answers. Apparently, this fragile girl in front of him had bigger balls than any other member of the Survey Corps. "Whatever, hurry up with those bandages, brat", he looked at her finishing wrapping her right hand. "As for you", he turned his head to his squad, "Leave".

"But Captaaain", Sasha complained, "That’s not fair".

"We were waiting for this for so long", Eren confirmed. 

"We want to see it", Jean added.

Their growling started getting Levi’s nerves. "I don’t really care what you want. I said 'LEAVE'", there was a note of irritation in his voice.

"Guys, I think we should go", Armin said quietly. "Or we’ll get…", he could not finish his sentence because Mikasa interrupted him: "Why do you want them to leave? Are you afraid I’ll kick your ass in front of them?". Everybody fell quiet, they knew Mikasa’s temper well, but she’s just crossed the line.

Levi definitely wasn’t expecting that and after those words his irritation only increased. "No, I am afraid after the spar you will not be considered as one of the strongest anymore. You don’t want your friends to see that, do you?", he asked, looking at her. She said nothing but there was a hint of anger in her eyes. Levi turned his head to his squad for the second time: "Now get out. That’s an order".

He watched them leaving, when he heard Mikasa getting up to her feet. Levi turned around and saw her giving him a murderous look. Had she a knife in her hand, she would probably stab him. Despite the fact that her ego was the size of Wall Maria, he was surprised how thin and delicate her body looked. She wore the same clothes he had; as it was the training uniform for all the soldiers. He looked at her arms and couldn’t believe this was the same person who almost took the syringe from him by force three years ago. Surely, she was toned but he expected to see more muscles. But as they say ‘appearances are often deceptive’.

Levi stepped out of the shadow and gestured Mikasa to follow him to the training ground. "Listen up, brat, I have to clear some things out before we begin", he said, "There are two reasons why I decided to train you. First, we must learn to cooperate because now we are definitely not on the same page. And second, our mission success and, most likely, our lives will depend on your combat skills. So, try not to make it difficult for both of us and let’s just get down to work", Levi waited for an answer but a curt nod came instead. She was standing a few feet away from him with crossed arms in front of her chest. Obedient Mikasa Ackerman was a rare sight for his eyes indeed.

The tank top that was a few sizes bigger than she needed made her look grotesque. He knew it wasn’t her fault that the financial position of the Survey Corps does not allow them to buy a uniform that would fit her. Levi was about to make a remark on her hair but she was quick enough to notice him looking at it, so after a few skilful movements of her hands she tied a neat bun. He never noticed she let her hair grow to such length that it was covering her shoulder blades. Perhaps, the reason she had to cut her hair before was because it could tangle with the cables of her 3DM gear. That was one of her good traits: she always looked at things from the soldier’s point of view, not woman’s.

Mikasa didn’t seem to be satisfied but the fact that she didn’t complain was more than enough. "Well, then. Show me your stance, moves and tactics. You have a chance to fulfil your dream and beat me", Levi saw her smirking at his last sentence "I, in my turn will dodge and block all of your blows".

He didn’t have to say twice, because she was already on the offensive. Mikasa swung her fists viciously over him. He was surprised with what pressure she rushed to a spar. It seemed Connie was right and for her it was more of a fight than a training. For all his life Levi has been in countless combats but he had never seen a person so desperate to land a hit on him. He wondered whether she hated him so much or it was simply her style of fighting. He dodged her jabs at ease but to understand the amount of strength in it, he had to block some of her hooks. When the moment came and he saw her left hand bending at the right angle, he covered the right side of his face with his forearm. He was surprised by the strength of that hit but it seemed Mikasa was even more confused about it and she stopped for a second only to continue than again. A few moments later, Levi blocked her kick but that wasn’t the result he wanted so he decided to let her land a kick on his torso. She managed to hit him on the side of his waist. To his surprise, the kick was strong enough to move him a few steps from his stance.

She stopped attacking him: "Are you out of your mind?", Mikasa raised her voice, a frustration became visible on her face. "I could have knocked you out. You said you’ll be able to dodge it".

"Calm down, Ackerman, I did it on purpose. Besides, do not overestimate yourself, you can’t knock me out", Levi said indifferently, watching her responding him by the roll of her eyes. "I was dodging it but I had to test the strength of your blow".

She looked confused and he thought he knew the exact reason for it. "I have to admit you are strong; there is no wonder you were the best out of top ten in your class", he noticed a smile appeared on her face. "I would say that one of your precise kicks is enough to knock out a grown man", Levi touched the spot on his waist where she hit him and felt a slight pain under the thin fabric of his tank top.

Mikasa’s eyes were full of questions: "So why…"

He interrupted her: "Why am I still standing? I guess the part of this question can be answered by the fact that I am an Ackerman, whatever it means. And the second reason is because you hit me on the spot where there no vital organs", Levi tried to explain. He watched as she wiped the beads of sweat on her forehead by the back of her hand. "Simply put, if you kick Jean, for example, with the same strength but a few inches higher, most likely, you’ll break at least two of his ribs and damage his liver. However, it’ll take more effort to knock me down", he took the hem of his tank top and lifted it up, baring the right side of his waist. Her eyes immediately left his and went down to examine the area of his exposed skin that already started changing its colour. She leaned to get a better look but then, suddenly, took a couple of steps back as a slight pink colour appeared on both of her cheeks.

A few moments later, when she finally stopped finding their surrounding so interesting and all of her attention was once again on Levi, he covered his exposed side and continued: "As for your technique, or rather its absence… You are simply throwing punches to your opponent; in other words, your goal is to land one single hit on your enemy, because you know it will be enough to win. And judging by your reaction when you kicked me, you have never met an opponent who remained standing on his feet after one of your precise blows, have you?"

Mikasa shook her head, "No, but there was one soldier who would probably have been able to defeat me in combat", she said with a frown. 

"The Female Titan brat, is that right?", Levi asked and Mikasa nodded, confirming his question. "I saw her fighting Eren during the Assault on Stohess, her fighting style was almost perfect", he looked at Mikasa clenching her fists. "We should begin working on your mistakes", he said, looking at the sun that has already disappeared from the sky, "I don’t want to spend all night here".

"Neither do I", Mikasa responded.

"Then let’s start from the stance", Levi said, "It’s not bad, but you have plenty of open spots. Take your stance, I’ll show you", he came closer to her. "You are covering most of your face, which is not only leaving your torso unprotected, but also damages your line of sight". He touched her forearms with his fingers and moved it a little lower. "Now try to arc your spine", he said putting his right hand between her shoulder blades. "And press your elbows to your torso", Levi walked around, observing her, "Good".

It seemed weird to him she wasn’t complaining, but when he looked into her eyes, that were burning with determination, Levi understood. She wanted to be a better soldier even if it meant she had to learn from him. "The next is your left jab", he continued. "All the punches made by your left hand are clearly weaker than the right ones. All right-handers have this problem and the strength of your blows will improve with time. So, there is no point in dwelling on it".

Mikasa listened to him carefully and he just couldn’t get used to it. "And one more thing. Your fighting style; it sure is enough to knock out a lowlife scum but to be able to stand a ground against me, you should develop some sort of a tactic", he watched her narrowing her eyes. "I can’t teach you a strategy because its different for every person and you have to come up with it by yourself. However, you should try to attack with a combination of blows.".

"What do you mean?", she asked, frowning. 

Levi sighed heavily, "What I mean is that your every punch has the same amount of strength which is not necessary. You are simply exhausting yourself", he explained. "I suggest you attack with a combination of three hits, the first two of which would be weaker, and the last one the strongest. For example, try to do two light jabs and a powerful right hook in the end. All clear now?"

The girl nodded in response. Levi hoped she understood him because he found himself a poor mentor. "Now show me what you’ve learnt today", he demanded. "But bear in mind that I won’t be only on the defensive anymore".

He watched Mikasa following his advice and taking her stance same way he told her to. She was slowly approaching him as he also took his fighting position. This time she didn’t rushed to a fight, so Levi attacked first. He didn’t put much strength into his punches, nevertheless he moved as fast as always. He aimed in her jaw with his first jab, however she dodged it without breaking a sweat. Levi was quite amazed by how smooth she moved but he didn’t show any sign of it. Instead, he continued attacking her. Mikasa’s reactions were pretty quick and her physical state allowed her to dodge his punches. 

After she evaded yet another one of his blows, she suddenly lowered her glance. "Do not look at my thigh a moment before you are going to throw a low kick", Levi said as he made two quick steps back, "You are simply showing me where you’ll hit me. Concentrate either on my fists or my eyes".

"Got it", she said, swiftly cutting the distance between them. She attacked him with a combination of blows as he told her to. Though he dodged it with ease, Levi was impressed how fast she was picking up everything. "Come on, Ackerman, you are supposed to be the best. At this rate I’m going to fall asleep in the middle of this spar", he said sarcastically and she clenched her jaws in anger, "Why even bother bringing those bandages of yours if you can't touch me even once", Levi gestured on the fabric wrapped around her fists. 

Mikasa’s eyes were locked on his, "Not to get my hands dirty when I punch you in the face". She was on the offensive once again, but this time due to her rage she moved as viciously as the she-wolf attacking its prey.

She knew how to get under his skin, didn’t she? It was bald of him to assume that he is the only one capable of making people angry with a single sentence. Levi wanted to bark something back but she was keeping him busy with her blows. There was no interval between her punches; she threw her fists one after another which made it difficult for him to dodge. Her emotions took the best of her and, blinded by her anger, Mikasa pushed so hard she forgot about her defences.

"Calm down", Levi said, grabbing her left fist in the midair. She didn’t respond but tried to free her hand but failed. He knew how much she wanted to hit him, that’s why when she raised her right hand, trying to land a hook on his face, Levi immediately blocked it with his forearm. They stood like that a few moments, but then Mikasa broke the eye contact and dropped her eyes on his torso. Years of Levi’s battle experience showed the moment she lifted her left foot off the ground and tried to kick him. He caught her shin a few inches away from his torso and without wasting a second, he kicked her right ankle and thus knocked her off.

The second her back hit the ground with a thud, Levi was on top of her. He sat on her abdomen, with his legs on her sides. His left knee pressing her right hand to the ground. Mikasa’s left wrist was fixed by his firm, but not painful, grip over her head. He loosened his knee from her hand a bit and said: "I told you not to look down". 

Mikasa jerked her upper body from the ground hoping to break free from his hold, though it was in vain. "Looking down is the only way to look at you", she smirked.

Levi didn’t want her to wait for his reaction, so he pressed her shoulder with his left forearm and then grabbed Mikasa’s neck to prevent her from moving again. Although he admitted in his head that it was funny, he couldn’t show it, "Jokes about height, huh?", he asked, looking at smile fading from her face. "I think this is not the right time for you to pretend being a clown. You still...", he stopped, something caught his attention. Mikasa froze, she didn’t move a single muscle. It even seemed to him that she wasn’t breathing. He didn’t understand what was going on, Levi was positive he didn’t use a lot of strength on his grip. Then he looked her in the eyes and saw fear inside. At first glance it seemed she was looking at him, but in reality, her eyes stared into the void. He had never saw her afraid; even during the bloodiest battles, she never froze. 

Was she afraid of him?

Levi was still sitting on top of her but he let go of her hands and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly. He had to bring her back to consciousness. "Hey, Ackerman", he said, grabbing one of her wrists to check the pulse but couldn’t find it. "Dammit, wake up, brat", Levi shook her once more and when it didn’t have any effect, he decided to try check a pulse on her neck and was relieved when he felt a faint beat under his touch. ’It would have been a shame if such a strong soldier had died because of me’, he said to himself.

He was thinking about going to get some help and was about to stand up when his peripheral vision allowed him to see Mikasa’s fist flying towards his face. Levi knew very well that if he takes a punch to his jaw, it will probably end up being broken but he had no time to block or dodge it, so the best solution was to tilt his head a bit down. 

As he expected, he felt a terrible pain on the right side of his face. Mikasa definitely didn’t hold back the strength of this blow. He kept his balance only thanks to his left hand, which he managed to put on the ground to lean on. Levi felt dizzy but forced himself to get up, he raised his hand to the spot where she had hit him. Judging by the touch, half of her fist landed on his right temple. "What a hell was that, Ackerman?", he tried to look at her but everything was swirling around. Levi didn’t see her face, only a silhouette of a sitting body on the ground. 

"I’m s-sorry", her voice sounded strange.

"I am waiting for an explanation", Levi demanded looking at her, it looked like she was covering her face. He had no idea what was going on, but his head was dizzy and he probably would not be able to walk straight for a few minutes. He was going to dismiss her to prevent her from seeing him at such weak state, but she got ahead of him.

"Can I go, sir?", he heard her asking quietly. 

He wanted to raise his eyebrow, but the right side of his face wasn’t responding. A few moments ago she technically called him a midget and now she remembered he was her superior. Does she feel guilty? "Well, at the end of the day you did manage to punch me. So yes, you can", he saw her standing up, still covering her face. His focus began to return a little but everything was still swirling. "Tomorrow, here, same time. Don’t be late", he watched her saluting.

"Yes, sir", her voice was somehow broken.

"And, Ackerman", she was already leaving but stopped at the sound of his voice, "That dirty trick of yours won’t work on me the second time". Mikasa didn’t say a word, only nodded.

Levi waited for her to leave, then turned around and strode to the tree where his things were. He sat down, drank water and poured what was left on the towel. He felt relief when the wet cloth touched his burning cheekbone. Coming here an hour ago, he could not even imagine that she’ll be able to hit him. How many years passed since someone had punched him during the spar? Levi didn’t remember how long ago was it, but he remembered clearly that it was Mike. That man weighed twice as much as Mikasa, but her blow was no weaker than Mike’s. 

Maybe if she stops being such a pain in the ass and trains hard, she’ll become stronger than Levi himself. With that thought in mind Levi went to the castle to take a shower as soon as possible.


	4. The Night of Abduction

It was almost dark outside, the sun disappeared behind the mountains a while ago. Levi was dodging Mikasa’s quick blows when a cool autumn breeze touched his face, "Come on, Ackerman, show me some progress", he said after almost an hour of silent sparring, "It’s our last training, and you are still the same incapable fighter you were the day we started", Levi watched her furrowing her eyebrows at his sudden statement.

"Don’t forget that it was also the day I, 'an incapable fighter', left half of your face bruised", Mikasa hissed, pointing her finger at Levi’s right cheekbone.

"Never take an accident for a victory", he said calmly, "But should I remind you that for the rest three weeks of training you weren’t able to hit me even once?"

"No, you shouldn’t", she replied, clenching her fists, "But we still have a few hours before celebration begins, and who knows, maybe Humanity’s Strongest soldier will attend the party with a broken nose".

No matter how to look at it, she was the only person who dared to threat him directly. "Tch, don’t forget who you are talking to, brat", he made sure there was enough irritation showed in his voice. "But if you are going to do some damage to me", Captain took his stance, "Better do it, rather than talk about it pointlessly", he watched her also taking her fighting position. But a moment before they drew into a fight, someone’s voice interrupted them.

"Heeeey, Ackermans", Hange was walking from the direction of the castle. "Thought I find you here", she went up close to them and stopped near Captain, "You are so busy with your training, I didn’t see you in weeks, Levi", Commander said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Levi threw her a deadly stare, "Do not touch me, four eyes", he said crossly, swiping her hand off of him immediately.

"Easy", Hange frowned at him, "Why you always have to be so irritable?", she asked.

"This is a defensive reaction that turns on the moment you appear in front of me", Levi saw her rolling her only eye. "Anyway, why are you here? Weren’t we suppose to meet in your office an hour from now?"

Hange’s face expression changed into serious one: "You see, the preparations have already begun and there are many people inside, which means that those thugs could be in a castle, disguised as common people", she explained. "It would be stupid to discuss our plan in my office where it is a strong possibility to be overheard. So, I thought it would be better to came here for privacy".

Her subordinates nodded, without saying a word.

"Then let’s go and sit down", Commander turned around and headed to the tree, where a few weeks ago, The Special Operations Squad intended to witness a spar between Ackermans. 

Once they reached their destination, Levi was last to sit down. He sat by the tree, leaning his back against its trunk and put his left hand resting on his knee. He looked at Hange: "So, do you have any news about those so-called kidnappers?"

"As the matter of fact, I do not", she said. 

"What do we suppose to do, then?", Mikasa asked with a worried tone in her voice.

Commander looked at her and smiled, "Well if anyone’s capable to pull that off it’s only you two. Besides, they need you alive, we know that for sure".

"Cut it out, Hange, you came here to discuss the plan, so do it. There is no need of encouraging us", Levi said harshly.

"Impatient as always, Levi", Hange replied, looking at her friend. "So, let’s start from the obvious parts: the moment the celebration begins, you two are not allowed to lose sight of each other. I am pretty sure it’s going to be tough even for one of you to break free on your own if they separate you. But if you stick together all the time, there is almost 100% probability that they’ll kidnap you together", Commander explained.

"It’s not going to be easy", Mikasa sighed heavily.

"I know, right?", Hange replied, "Being stuck with this angry little guy all the time…If I were you, I would beg the kidnappers to kill m…ouch", Levi kicked her in the thigh, preventing her from ending the sentence.

He looked at Commander and said as emotionless as possible: "The plan. Continue".

"Oh God, I feel bad for you, Mikasa", Hange rubbed her thigh. "Try to avoid the crowd, there is no need of the unnecessary commotion. Moreover, make it easy for them to abduct you, show some resistance obviously, but don’t fight much either". Ackermans were listening carefully without interruptions, so she continued: "Also, dress appropriately for the event; it’s going to look suspicious if you’ll be the only ones wearing the uniform", Hange saw them both rolling their eyes at her last sentence. "And one more thing, don’t bring weapons, though you can try to hide a knife in your clothes but they’ll probably confiscate it". 

"So, what about the forest?", Levi asked, shifting his gaze from Hange’s eye to a piece of folded paper that was sticking out of her pocket. 

Hange pulled a map out of her jacket and flattened it on the ground. "Listen carefully, the ride from here to Stohess district takes about 10 hours, which is 41 miles to be precise. You’ll ride through the forest for almost two hours. It starts at 23rd mile and ends at 30th and that mean you have to free yourself between 5th and 7th hours of ride", Commander pointed her finger at the marked segment of the road.

Levi looked at another mark on the paper, tiny red cross right outside the wall of Stohess district, "And this is..?" he put his finger on the spot.

Hange shifted her gaze from one mark to another, "Yeah, this is the place where the stuff you asked me to hide is. It’s about 600 feet east of the gate".

Mikasa raised her eyebrow: "What stuff?"

"A pair of 3DM gear, spare blades and clothes, or at least that’s what I requested", Levi responded, looking at Hange.

Commander smiled, "Everything you requested has been granted and is safely hidden right there", she looked at Levi who was waiting for her to explain the specific location, "The rookies who hid this told me its in the hollow of the oak tree. I was said that it’s the biggest tree near the wall so it’ll surely catch your attention".

"And what about your spy? Where are we suppose to meet her and when?", Captain asked.

Hange folded the map neatly and put it back in her pocket, "There is a bridge in the centre of the city, right next to the bell tower", she said and got two simultaneous nods in respond. "But due to the fact that we do not know the exact time of your arrival, Lisa agreed coming to that destination every 3 hours both tomorrow and day after tomorrow".

"I assume that’s all you wanted to tell us", Levi said after a few seconds of silence.

"Yes", was Hange’s reply.

"Then, Ackerman, you are dismissed", Captain said, standing up. "There is no need for everybody to see all three of us walking back together, it might look suspicious. Go to your barracks and be ready in an hour, I’ll meet you near the exit of the left-wing".

"Yes, Captain", Mikasa stood up and saluted before walking to the direction of the HQ.

They watched her until she disappeared in the darkness. "She didn’t bark back", Hange noticed, "It looks like your training wasn’t in vain after all".

"No, it wasn’t in vain but the reason she didn’t bark back was because she is scared and exited at the same time", Levi said rubbing his shorts from dust. "She has quite good instincts but, unfortunately, they are getting dulled by her emotions most of the time".

Hange also stood up, "And what about her physical abilities? Was she able to punch you the second time?", she laughed so loudly even the crickets in the grass fell silent for a few seconds.

"Shut up, or I’ll go deaf", Levi said, scowling. “No, she wasn’t. I told you she hit me by accident".

"But it doesn’t change the fact that you came to me for the medicine", Hange whispered with that stupid expression on her face.

"Yeah, and the medicine don’t fucking help I might say", Captain growled, bringing his hand to his forehead.

Commander raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Wait. Does it hurt till now?"

"Tch", Levi rolled his eyes, "Occasionally".

He saw a spark of excitement in Hange’s eyes before she said: "Mikasa gave you a concussion by one punch. I can’t believe it".

"Yes, she is the best soldier I have ever sparred with", Levi said, "I increased her stamina by fighting her for hours during three weeks. And I have to admit, she improved a lot. A few more years of such training and she’ll be on par with me".

"Awww, it looks like Captain Levi has a favourite", Hange squeaked.

"Uh, get lost, four eyes", he said, starting walking back to the castle.

"Good luck", he heard Hange saying from behind, "Watch each other’s backs". She sounded serious.

"We will". He left her standing there alone. 

Right after the shower, Levi put on his suit and left the room. He walked through the empty corridor and felt pleased that at least left wing of the castle wasn’t overflowing with strangers. But his joy only lasted till the moment when he saw the doors at the end of the hallway. The doors behind which there are dozens of fake smiling people who will want to chat with Humanity’s Strongest soldier and shake his hand. He never understood why they were pretending to be nice if the only thing those pigs care about were money. It was very well-known fact that they came here only in order to get a piece of land that the scouts are about to explore. 

He was so deep in his thoughts that didn’t notice someone’s figure leaning to the wall. It was dark and only with the help of candles that hung along the walls of the corridor he managed to recognize the woman in front of him. She looked different.

“Ackerman", Levi acknowledge her presence, "A skirt?”, he asked coming closer. 

She tucked a strand of pitch-black hair behind her ear, “Commander said to dress appropriately. It’s not my fault”, she looked at the floor after her cheeks turned pink. “Stupid rules say girls should wear dresses while attending events like this one”, Mikasa sighed.

“Will you be able to fight in this?”, he asked and she answered by a nod. “Come on then. We’ll sit at the table for a while, and then, when everyone gets drunk and starts having fun, we’ll leave for a walk, hoping that those idiots would have enough brains to kidnap us while we are out of everyone’s sight”, Levi explained.

Mikasa opened the door and they both entered an antechamber full of people. The celebration has already started, there were three long tables served with food. As far as Levi noticed at the table on the right sat members of the middle class of society, at the table on the left were the Survey Corps soldiers including his own squad, and the middle one was where the upper-class representatives and Hange with a few officers settled down. 

They walked to the table on the left, Mikasa found herself an empty seat reserved for her by Armin and Eren while Levi had to move Kirstein to sit opposite her. Everybody was staring, “What?”, Captain barked and all of his subordinates jumped in surprise.

“You never sit with us at events like this one”, Connie said quietly.

“Do you have any problems with me sitting here, Springer?”, Levi asked, taking off his jacket.

Connie’s eyes grew big, “N-no, that’s not what I meant”, he began making excuses but was interrupted by someone’s hoarse voice from behind Levi’s back: “If it isn’t famous Captain Levi”, right after those words everybody fell quiet, “Why won’t you join us?”.

Levi assumed this voice belonged to one of the nobles, whom he despised, so he answered without even looking: “I’d rather sit with my squad”. 

The man gowled and was proably about say something but Hange interrupted him, saying, “Oh, there is no need of this, Captain is not very sociable. In fact, I doubt he would say a single word till the morning sitting here with us, so please forgive him”. The man said nothing more and a couple of seconds later the room was filled with noise once again.

Levi began to eat but haven’t let his guard down and was watching every person who seemed suspicious to him. Half an hour later when everyone was stuffed and laughing at Connie’s jokes, the waiter came and served few bottles of wine on the table. The eyes of each member of his squad were focused on Levi once again. He started losing his temper: “What now?”. None of them answered but Eren’s eyes jumped at the alcohol for a second. Levi wanted to smile so badly he had to bring a cup of tea to his lips so they wouldn’t notice, “All of you are grown ass soldiers and I am not your father” he sounded as irritated as he possibly could be.

An hour later he regretted the words he said. Everyone except Mikasa and himself were drunk as skunks. Sasha was so hammered she even tried to replace Levi’s glass of water with Jean’s glass of wine. He could no longer sit with them because they were so loud that his head started to ache. Levi was thinking who of all these people could be kidnappers when music started to play suddenly. All of his drunk subordinates stood up howling and yelling happily and walked towards their potential dance floor. 

He saw Jean stopped near Mikasa, whispering something in her ear. “No, I’d rather go outside to get some fresh air” she replied, looking at Levi, then stood up and walked slowly to the exit.

Captain grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and followed her. He caught up with her as she descended the stairs into the yard. “I think the training ground is a good place to walk to” Levi said quietly changing his way to their destination, “There will be no people”.

They walked at silence, with every step the noise and music from the celebration seemed quieter. It was dark but the light from the moon was enough for them to see the path they walked every evening for the last three weeks.

They were almost at their destination when Mikasa asked quietly: “Do you have any knife?”

Levi barely heard her, “I do, at my belt. You?” he said, slowing down his pace.

“No. I couldn’t find a place to hide it” Mikasa said angrily as she rubbed her upper-arms with her hands, “…stupid skirt”.

He stopped and looked at her, she was shaking. “Here”, he handed her his jacket, “I carry it in my hand anyway”.

“No, it’s fine but thank you” Mikasa refused, looking at the ground. She was about to start walking again when she suddenly turned her head left, as if she heard something. Before Levi could ask what happened, he heard a strange swish-like sound and then Mikasa turned towards him, slowly raising her hand up and said: “Captain…my neck…tranq” she passed out without finishing the word and fell on the ground.

“Shit” was all he managed to say. He raised his arms to cover his neck the moment he heard that swish-like sound again and a moment later something tiny but sharp sank in his forearm. Levi used his other hand to pull out a dart as soon as possible but then he began to feel dizzy. He passed out hoping that when he wakes up, they’ll still have a chance to escape.

Slowly regaining his consciousness, Levi realized he was lying on his side with his right arm feeling numb due to the weight of his own body with which he pressed it to the ground. As he began to pull his hand out from under his torso, both of his arms moved; they were tied in front. 

Then he heard two male voices joined the sound of hooves and wheels, which he didn’t notice he was hearing all this time, Captain realized his senses were back. Levi slowly opened his eyes and saw the outline of his shadow on the dark wall made of canvas which led him to the conclusion that the source of light was located behind his back. He continued to hear the distant dialogue of men, also coming from behind, but could not make out the words because of the pain in his head. 

Not knowing how long he was unconscious was getting on his nerves but judging by the sounds, Levi was sure he was in a cart and still on the road. The main problem was that the cart was completely covered with dark canvas which prevented him from seeing what time of day it is outside. Captain was thinking about his next moves when his sense of smell finally returned and he felt the smell of kerosene in the air. The lamp. They would not have used a lamp if it was a daytime, but simply folded back a piece of canvas at the exit from the cart to let the light inside. 

Now the only thing remaining to find out was how long they were on the way. Levi had to admit, that thanks to Mikasa warning him about the tranquilizer, they still have a chance to escape. Thinking about her, he suddenly realized that he has no clue where she is. “Ackerman!” he called out loudly and the voices behind him fell silent. Levi tried to get up but the stabbing pain in his back made him clench his jaws. He was still facing the wall but in a sitting position now and the next thing he realized was that his feet were tied as well. Despite the throbbing pain in the spine he leaned on his hands and with great difficulty managed to turn around to be able to face the people who kidnapped him. 

While both of the men were looking at him with their mouths wide open, Levi wasted no time looking through the inside of the cart. As he expected, two men sat side by side in front of Captain, with only the lamp separating them from him. Then when his gaze fell into the corner of the cart, he noticed her, Mikasa was also lying on her side still unconscious, but unlike him, her hands were tied behind. He was relieved although his face expression didn’t change a bit. Levi wanted to lean on the wall behind him but remembered the unbearable pain that emerged with every movement of his back so he stayed in his sitting position with his forearms resting on his knees.

“Who are you?” Levi asked examining every little detail with his eyes. He noticed that for some reason they looked surprised. They were dressed in civilian, though both of them wore the necklace with the walls’ symbols. Two average seized men, no distinguishing features, except one of them had a beard and the other one had a knife in his belt, Levi’s knife. 

“Are you looking at this?”, man pulled the knife from his belt, “Yes, I took your toy away from you” he smiled nastily at Levi. “But I couldn’t find a weapon on her” he looked at Mikasa and stood up, “I want to search her again. Just in case”. He walked towards her and knelt near her thigh.

Captain felt anger burning inside of him, he was so disgusted by that man. “She will probably kill you when she wakes up” Levi said calmly watching the man slipping his hand under her skirt.

“I’d love to see her trying to kill me” he announced with a hoarse voice. His hand moved higher and higher up her leg.

“If she won’t, I certainly will” Levi stated emotionlessly. 

Man’s hand stopped a little higher Mikasa’s knee, he squeezed her leg so tightly his knuckles turned white but then he let go. He stood up, turned around and walked to where Levi was sitting, “Such a small man with such a long tongue” he crouched in front of the Captain. 

The man was so close that Levi had do turn his head to the side to prevent himself from smelling the stink breath of the guy’s mouth, “Step back. I don’t want to die by suffocation” Levi said indifferently. Right after these words, man grabbed him by the collar of hiss shirt and was about to punch him. Levi gritted his teeth to prevent himself from showing the pain that flared up in his back.

“Don’t come close to him, Nell. He is dangerous” the bearded man spoke for the first time, pulling his necklace out from under his shirt, “Even the tranquilizer doesn’t work properly on him”.

“But isn’t it because this bastard pulled out a dart immediately” Nell complained but let go of Levi’s collar anyway, “Besides it didn’t hit him in the neck” he stood up and walked back to the other man.

“Yes, it is possible that he woke up faster because the dart was pulled out immediately. But it doesn’t really matter where it hit” the man with a beard said, watching Levi, “I am worried that inside each of the darts were enough drugs to put the horse to sleep for a day at least. And he is already up”.

After these words Levi knew that their whole plan was for nothing. There is no way Mikasa will be able to wake up soon and that meant he would have to run away taking her unconscious with him. It would not be such a problem if his back wasn’t injured. Of course there is a possibility of him breaking free from kidnappers, but the question is whether he can escape from them with Mikasa in his arms. 

After a few minutes of ignoring the two men speaking right in front of him, he decided that the first thing he has to do is to find out how many of the kidnappers are there and how long they have been on the road. And only after learning all the information he’ll think about what to do next.

From the moment Levi first saw two men sitting in a cart, he was sure that the total number of the abductors would definitely exceed three. He didn’t notice the tranquilizer gun inside of the cart, which meant that someone else had it. It’s unlikely that it was a coachman because if something unexpected happens, he would be almost useless since it is impossible to drive the cart and shoot with precision at the same time. Based on this he was sure that at least one person was riding near the cart. In fact, if that guy, Idan Reybot, was clever enough he would place two men behind the cart so that in case of escape, each one could run after one of the abducted. But at the same time, it would not be wise to send more than five people because the bigger the group of people is the more suspicious they look and for this reason they can easily be stopped and checked by MPs or Garrison.

“So, you are claiming that I am dangerous”, Levi finally said, “But for some reason you decided that five people are enough to kidnap both me and my best soldier” he gestured his head towards Mikasa. “Aren’t you overconfident?”, he watched both of them closely.

Nell burst out laughing “Of course it’s enough. We already have you so why wouldn’t we be overconfident?” he responded with a huge smile, showing all of his yellow teeth.

“Why are you so sure there are five of us?” the bearded man asked, arcing his eyebrows in surprise.

Levi turned his gaze from Nell to the other man: “I wasn’t sure, it was a guess. But your not very bright friend just confirmed it”.

Nell stood up “Who you are calling…”, he didn’t end his sentence because he got interrupted by Mikasa’s mutter.

“Cap-tain” she mumbled, while trying to sit up.

Everyone fell quiet inside the cart. He was glad that he would not have to get out of there on his own, but the fact that she is okay made him even more happy. “Ackerman, what you feeling now is a side effect of a tranquilizer. The dizziness will go away in a few minutes, just don’t move too much for now” Levi explained.

She nodded, looking at her superior. “Where are we?” Mikasa asked.

“In a cart. We are taking you with us” Nell hurried to talk to her before Captain could say a word.

“And who the hell are you?” Mikasa asked scowling her face.

Nell turned his face toward Levi, “Now I understand what you meant, little man” he said standing up. He walked to where Mikasa sat with her hands tied up behind. “You would kill me if you knew what I want to do to you” he crouched at her side the same way he did near Levi a while ago. Nell leaned closer to her face “I thought he was kidding but…” he never had a chance to end his sentence.

Mikasa headbutted him so viciously he ended up lying on his back with a blood flowing from his nose. “Where are you taking us?” she asked the other man while Nell was growling on the ground.

“You two are definitely not ordinary people” said a bearded man, watching his comrade’s crushed nose. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Nell. “You will be told everything later” he answered helping his friend to his feet.

“Little whore” Nell grunted sitting down slowly, “You broke my nose”.

Levi saw an opportunity in that situation. “It’s a shame my knife didn’t stick in your ass when you fell” he said sarcastically, hoping Mikasa would understand him. But all his worries were gone the moment he saw with his peripheral vision that she nodded without even looking at him.

Nell turned red with anger, “You bastard” he yelled. But it looked like it was painful for him to speak because he said nothing more and sat there in silence.

According to Levi’s calculations, approximately two hours have passed since the moment he regained consciousness and all of this time he sat in one position. Because of this his body began to go numb so he had no choice but to start moving his back. The agonising pain that was centred in his spine seemed to run all over his body with his every movement. It almost felt like his backbone was broken but he knew it wasn’t because he could still move. 

“Hey you, the one with a beard” Levi spoke after a few minutes of silence. The eyes of everyone in the cart were focused on him, including Mikasa’s.

“What is it?” man asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

“I have a request” Levi answered, looking at Mikasa with a corner of his eye. He had to provide her with as much information as possible about their current situation. After he made sure she was watching him carefully, he turned his attention back to the man, “I need to take a piss” Captain said calmly, imagining his subordinate rolling her eyes right now. 

The man was about to say something but Nell got ahead of him: “Do you really think we’ll let you?”. He wiped off the last traces of blood from his face with the handkerchief and then put it in his pocket.

Captain knew the outcome of this conversation the moment Nell burst into it. He was even dumber than he looked, therefore it was easy for Levi to lead the dialogue. “Do you really think I can escape with my hands and feet tied up and the five of you watching me?” Captain said apathetically, although he felt satisfied that he managed to spoil the number of the kidnappers for Mikasa.

“Just hold it. We have already travelled a little more than halfway” the man with a beard replied with a seriousness in his voice.

These words were exactly what Levi wanted to hear. According to Hange, the ride should have taken 10 hours and the forest should have started at 5th hour. It meant only one thing: they are passing the forest right now. “And here I thought you were the clever one, beardy” Levi said through the pain caused by stretching his back, “I was passed out and have no idea where we are going, so how the hell am I suppose to know how long it’ll take to ride the remaining halfway?” Captain bluffed.

“I sincerely hope you do not think we are so dumb to tell you all of this” the man smirked, hiding the smile behind his beard.

Levi shrugged his shoulders, feeling a hint of pain running across his spine. “Well, I’m pretty sure that idiot sitting next to you would tell me everything”, he said, casting a quick glance towards Nell. 

Captain didn’t have to wait for Nell’s reaction since he was already on his feet and was walking towards Levi with an irritated look on his face. “Calm down Nell, there is no need of this” the bearded man protested, “I doubt your punches will do anything to him except for a couple of bruises”. 

“Yes, you are probably right”, Nell stopped, “Instead maybe I can do something to her” he said, changing his way to where Mikasa sat. 

She was watching his every move. “It looks like you haven’t learnt your lesson” Mikasa sighed, following him with her gaze. The calm expression on her face told Levi not to interfere. 

“Oh, I have”, he stopped behind her. Mikasa had to tilt her head back to be able to see him. “You can’t be approached from the front” he said, crouching behind her with his knees at Mikasa’s sides. Nell took a handful of her hair and pulled her so close to him that her shoulder blades were touching his chest. 

Levi was on the verge of doing something, when he noticed. While Nell was busy whispering something in her ear, Mikasa’s tied hands reached for Levi’s knife located in Nell’s belt.

After she successfully retrieved the knife and hid it in her hands, Mikasa suddenly jerked her head forward in order to pull her hair out of Nell’s hand. Before he could understand what happened, she managed to throw her head back and thus hit him on the nose again. “You can’t approach me from behind either, moron” Mikasa declared when he fell down and the blood began to run all over his face once again.

Nell was rolling on the ground, holding his face with his both hands. He was growling in pain and cursing Mikasa at the same time. Levi had to admit: that scene was satisfying to watch, but unfortunately, he didn’t have time to enjoy the suffering of this idiot for long, and when Captain finally returned his gaze to Mikasa, she had already cut the rope on her hands but still held them behind her back in the same position as when they were tied to prevent the other man from seeing that she’d freed herself. Only the bearded man was watching his comrade’s bloodied face with such curiosity that he didn’t even look at Mikasa’s hands.

“Is everything alright in there?” the voice was coming from outside. It probably belonged to one of the two riders who rode behind the cart.

“Yes” the bearded man sad loudly, “Just Nell got rejected by the woman”. There was no response other than laughter. 

When the people outside had quieted down and the sound of the cart was the only sound that could be heard, the man spoke again, this time addressing to Mikasa: “If you headbutt him again, you’ll probably fracture his skull” he sounded serious, “And I can’t allow this, so calm down, otherwise we will have to put you to sleep again”.

Levi was watching man’s every move carefully so he didn’t allow himself to take his eyes off of him to see Mikasa’s reaction. Captain was waiting patiently for the right moment. And when the bearded man got up to his feet and started walking towards Nell in order to help him, this exact moment has finally come. Since his opponent turned his back on him, Levi had the advantage, even though his hands and feet were tied. 

Ignoring the agonizing pain in his back, Captain jumped to his feet as quick as his tied ankles allowed him to. Before the man could understand what happened, Levi was standing behind him with his forearm pressing on man’s throat. He knew that due to the pain in the spine and the fact that his hands are tied, he would not be able to make a normal chokehold. And that meant it will take time to strangle the man. It seemed like a problem to him until he noticed his subordinate.

Now, when he was standing, Captain had the opportunity to look at Mikasa. To his surprise and relief, she wasted no time and was cutting the rope around her ankles. After she completely freed herself, she quickly jumped to her feet and walked towards Nell. Seeing her approaching him, he wanted to yell, but thanks to a broken nose, the sound that left his mouth was more of a grunt than a scream. Nevertheless, it was enough for his comrades to hear him. He was just getting to his feet but she managed to knock him out with a single kick to his chest. The moment Nell’s body hit the floor the cart stopped. Both of them knew they had almost no time left but there was no turning back either. Therefore, despite the lack of time they remained calm. And right after Mikasa dealt with Nell, she quickly moved to the Captain and squatted at his feet to cut the rope.

During all this time he was watching her, Levi didn’t loosen his chokehold. Resistance coming from his opponent weakened with every second and at the moment when Mikasa cut the rope on his feet, man hardly moved anymore. Still Captain didn’t risk to free the man from his hold, so to be able to cut the rope on Levi’s hands Mikasa had to walk in front of both Levi and the man. The moment she started to cut it, behind her back, where was the exit from the cart, a piece of canvas moved to the side and a man with a gun appeared from outside. 

“Give me the knife” Levi said in a hurry and Mikasa handed him the blade without a question. The man was already aiming at Mikasa when Levi loosened his grip and let his opponent fall on the floor. “Now duck” he ordered to his subordinate. She obeyed and dived down covering her head with her hands. Levi wasn’t sure if he would hit, after all he never threw knives with his hands tied. But his doubts disappeared when the knife hit man’s forehead and he fell dead.

“There is one more rider outside and he is probably coming for us right now” Levi explained as they started to walk towards the exit. “Go first, we need a horse, I will cover you” Captain ordered quietly but distinctly. Mikasa nodded and jumped out of the cart making sure not to step on the dead person, Levi jumped right after her.

Captain was expecting to see the dark of the night outside but the first thing he saw leaving the cart was another lamp and the man holding it. He was walking right towards Levi and Mikasa. “Go” Levi commanded and Mikasa ran past the man. He was trying to pull the knife out of his belt with his free hand but was stopped by one vicious blow from Levi. The low kick that hit him in the thigh would without a doubt cause him an open fracture, if it wasn’t for pain in Levi’s spine that reduced the strength of the kick. But judging by man’s scream, the blow was still strong enough to break the bone.

Captain left the man lying on the ground and went to look for Mikasa. After spending a few moments outside his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he spotted her getting on the horse. Levi was approaching his subordinate when he heard someone’s steps behind him. The only one left was a coachman so Levi wasn’t surprise. He knew that he didn’t have enough strength to knock the guy out with a single kick so he would have to fight with his tied hands. He turned around to face the attacker and took his fighting position when he heard Mikasa.

“Captain, duck now” she cried. Levi dodged and a moment after he heard already familiar swish-like sound. The coachman fell on the ground almost immediately.

Levi looked at Mikasa sitting on the horse with a tranquilizer gun in her hands and wanted to praise her but heard some sort of commotion inside the cart. It looked like someone had regained consciousness so without wasting a second, he ran towards her. “Give me your hand” he said imagining the pain he would have to endure jumping on the horse. 

He grabbed Mikasa by her forearm and with her help jumped on the same horse right behind her. “Shit” Levi said, clenching his jaws in pain, “Let’s move, before they see us”. She said nothing but made their horse galloping towards the forest.


	5. The Chase

The Ackermans have been riding for a while and from the moment they left the cart and fled into the forest, they were surrounded only by trees and thickets. At first it was difficult for Mikasa to steer the horse in darkness but the bleak light of the moon helped her to adjust her eyes to their surroundings. They didn’t talk, but from time to time, between the sounds of the hooves of a galloping horse, Mikasa managed to hear Captain grunting in what seemed like pain. She wondered if he was injured but didn’t want to start a conversation because the silence was calming her down, so they kept on riding without saying a word.

As time was passing by, Mikasa began to notice the trees becoming thinner and further apart. She looked up only to see the sky wasn’t a pitch-black colour anymore when Captain’s quiet but steady voice broke the silence: “It’s a daybreak already”, he said from behind her back, “Slow down the pace, Ackerman”.

“Why?”, she asked but pulled the reins and slowed the pace to a canter anyway.

Despite the fact that they have been riding on the same horse and Captain sitting right behind her, their bodies did not touch. She felt him leaning a bit closer to her, probably in order for her to hear him better: “The horse is tired. It carries both of us for a long time and at high speed”, he explained, “It will collapse at any minute now, if we don’t slow down. And most likely breaks a couple of our bones in the process of falling.”

Mikasa hummed, “If I am not mistaken, on the map Commander Hange showed us, there was a river not far from here, wasn’t there?”, she asked quietly, “We can rest a little and water the horse at the same time.” She wasn’t sure if he heard her words between the sound of the hooves.

“Yeah”, Levi grunted, “Good observation.”

Although, these words weren’t the big deal, it was very rare to hear a praise from the Captain. Mikasa couldn’t help but kept imagining Eren’s face if he heard Captain praising her, which made her smile a little. “But my sense of direction was blurred by the darkness so I don’t know how to get to the river”, she said as she slowed the horse down even more, this time to a trot.

“It’s northwest from here”, Captain responded calmly, “I assume, at this speed we should be able to hear the sound of the river soon”.

Mikasa nodded and steered the horse to the northwest without saying anything else.

Her head was full of thoughts about her superior as they rode past what seemed like the end of the forest where the thickets were no longer dense and the trees were much thinner than before. Mikasa knew very well that in order to become squad’s captain in the Survey Corps, one needs to be not only a strong soldier but also a sharp and attentive leader figure. Undeniably, he had all those qualities, but so did she. And yet, she wasn’t attentive enough to remember the location of the river on the map and all the more so she couldn’t navigate in the dark in the middle of the forest. Mikasa wondered how was he able to do all of that when she heard a distant sound of the flowing river. 

“That river originates within mountains near Mitras”, Captain suddenly spoke, when the stream appeared in their line of sight, “Which means if we stick to the shore and ride up against the flow, we’ll reach Wall Sina eventually.” 

“Well, the main road is too dangerous for us anyway”, Mikasa agreed. He didn’t respond so they rode quietly until she finally halted the horse a few feet from the riverside. A moment after they stopped, she turned around and saw Captain jumping off the horse, somewhat clumsily, and uttered something after landing; ‘Shit’, probably. Without wasting a minute, Mikasa followed his example and jumped off too.

She walked around the horse and took it to the water, pulling by reins. Only now, when Mikasa was standing on the bank nearby the drinking mare did she understand the reason why the sound of the running water was heard from afar. The flow was insanely fast. The waves hit the stones sticking out from the bottom with an incredible force, forming rapids. Furthermore, in some places, close to the huge rocks in the middle of the river, where the current was running into an obstacle, she noticed the water swirling around making little whirlpools. Mikasa was glad they didn’t need to go to the opposite side because this deadly river would easily swallow even the horse. 

“Oi, Ackerman”, Captain interrupted her flow of thoughts, “That’s enough for you enjoying the view”, he said in emotionless tone typical for him.

Mikasa turned around and found Captain sitting on the ground with his hands resting on his right knee. He was looking on the ground with his fringe preventing her from seeing his eyes. She started walking towards him, leaving the drinking horse behind. “Are you injured?”, she asked.

“Yes, I want you to check my back”, he answered, shifting his gaze on her. “But first, break this rope”, he said raising his tied wrists up, “You managed to incise it back in the cart, so it won’t need a lot of strength to break”, Captain pointed out.

“Why don’t you do it then?”, Mikasa asked frowning.

Captain threw her a deadly stare, “Stop asking questions and start doing what I told you to”, he said coldly, offering his bounded wrists to her once again.

The girl rolled her eyes in annoyance, “Alright”, she spat, kneeling down in front of him; she knew it wasn’t the right time for quarrelling. She grabbed his hands with hers, wrapping her fingers around his bounded wrists, thick layer of rope preventing her from touching his skin. Out of the corner of her eye Mikasa noticed Captain wincing after he leaned a bit towards her to grant her a better access to his wrists. She changed her sitting position to the comfortable one and began pulling his hands apart with all the strength she had. Under such pulling force, in the place where it was incised, the rope started breaking and a moment after it snapped completely, letting Captain’s hands free. 

Mikasa was still sitting in front of him, as he started unwrapping the binding from his wrists. “Thank you”, he said, not bothering to look at her.

She said nothing but acknowledged his words of gratitude by a curt nod. The girl watched him baring the skin that turned dark blue under the pressure of the rope. Mikasa returned her gaze to his face after he threw the rope away. Despite him desperately trying to hide it, exhaustion was fighting its way to show on his features. 

Captain moved his eyes from the thrown rope to Mikasa’s face. Now check my back ”, he said, starting getting up to his feet.

Come to think about it, Mikasa saw her superior wounded only once, when he sprained his ankle because of her. Even though that memory was slightly unpleasant for her, it was the only thing that came to her mind because the injured figure of Captain standing right in front of her again, worried her. Undoubtedly, the last time he was hurt, he could not walk for a while, unlike with his present wound he was able even to fight, but despite all of this he was looking much worse now than then. But maybe she was wrong and it wasn’t his condition that was bad but only his appearance. Captain’s hair was disheveled and he had blood on his pants which was rather rare sight for her eyes. When he started unfastening the lower buttons of his shirt, she also noticed something she had never seen on him before: his shirt was crumpled and untucked. 

Mikasa was thinking about how that sight didn’t quite match his meticulousness when he already unbuttoned three lower buttons and the pale skin of his abdomen became visible to her. His lower abs moving with his every breath while he continued undoing his shirt. There was no mirror anywhere near but she didn’t need it because she knew exactly how scarlet her cheeks were right now. Mikasa felt as embarrassed as the last time, when she kicked him in the side during their first training and as a result, he lifted his tank top up. But after spending three weeks together by training every day she kind of got used to him. That’s why, unlike the last time, she didn’t look away now. 

The last button he unfastened before stopping was the one right under his thorax. He turned his back to her, while taking the hem of his shirt and lifting it up. Captain sat down on the ground with his rback exposed to her. “Well, how bad is it?”, he asked.

Mikasa’s eyes widened at the sight. His backbone wasn’t even blue but almost black. She carefully pushed his already lifted shirt even higher since it was covering his shoulder blades. “It’s pretty bad. Your spine…” she stuttered, trying to find the right words to describe it, “I would say its broken if I didn’t see you moving around with my own eyes”, the girl informed him. 

“Tch”, Captain growled in complaint. “Little more details?”, he asked aggressively.

His arrogance didn’t even annoy her because she knew he was angry and worried about the success of their mission. She sighed, remembering all the medical lessons she received during 104th Cadet Corps, “All of your thoracic and about half of the lumbar vertebrae are damaged to such an extent, this bruise seems unnatural to me. In short, you have one very thin but continuous contusion from the nape of your neck all the way down to the small of your back”, Mikasa explained as best as she could. Then she quickly looked all over his bare skin, “The rest of your back seems unharmed”, she diagnosed, wondering how was that even possible to cause an injury of such an unusual shape.

After she stopped talking, Captain hummed and lowered his shirt down. “So how do you think I got that?”, he asked a few seconds later when he was already on his feet, buttoning up his garment. 

Mikasa lifted her head up in order to look at his face, “Apparently, it happened when we both were unconscious”, she saw Captain nodding in consent. “Maybe after they tied our limbs, they threw us inside the cart and you landed badly with your spine on the edge of something. Well, that would at least explain the fact that my hands were tied behind so if I were to fall at the same thing as you, I would land on my tied arms, therefore, without harming my back”.

Captain frowned, “Yes, it could be. However, there were no edgy objects inside th…”, his speech suddenly stopped at the middle of his sentence. He quickly turned his head to where they came from, at the edge of the forest. Mikasa was about to follow his gaze when he suddenly cried: “Get down”.

She didn’t waver but covered her head with her hands and clung to the ground. Since she was in a sitting position, Mikasa was able to get down faster than Captain could. The moment she noticed he lay down, the already familiar and annoying swish-like sound was heard. To her relief, the dart didn’t hit any of them but flew over their heads.

“Damn it”, she heard Captain cursed, raising up on his feet. Mikasa followed his example and also stood up. She didn’t even have the time to process everything that was going on around, as he grabbed her right wrist and started running, dragging her in the direction of the river. She didn’t understand at first why was he holding her hand because she was following him without a hint of resistance. But the moment she moved her gaze from their hands to what was in front, she finally understood the meaning under his displeased expression.

Their horse, which was grazing near the river a few minutes ago, was sprawled lifeless on the ground now. The dart must have hit it. However, Captain was dragging her not towards the mare as she thought before, but straight to the river. Her superior turned his head towards her, as he was leading their way to a ledge on the bank from which it would be possible to jump into deep water. “Do not let go of my hand”, he had to shout because they were already too close to the rushing stream. 

Mikasa felt fear growing inside her guts with each her step that shortened the distance between them and river. At one point she wanted to stop but her instincts told her to turn her head to where the dart came from instead. She caught a glimpse of two riders before her gaze fell on the man closer to her. He was chasing them, his position on the horse rather strange. One of his foot wasn’t in the stirrup but dangled down due to the two sticks that were tied to his thigh to prevent it from bending. The second man that stood behind, at the edge of the forest, was none other than Nell. And he was aiming at them with a gun.

She looked ahead again, they were a few feet away from the ledge now. The terrible thought that they would not be able to make it in time came into her head as she grabbed Captain’s wrist in a strong grip, the same way he was holding hers. 

He threw her a stare in respond, not the usual stare full of aggression but a reassuring one. Captain’s calm expression was the last thing she saw before jumping off the ledge. Mikasa shut her eyes and held her breath a moment they hit the surface of the water. 

She dug her fingers deep in Captains wrist as the cold water surrounded them from everywhere. The weight of their bodies made them sink to the bottom when she felt something soft touching her forearm. She opened her eyes in order to find out what it was. Her sight was blurred at first but it was enough to see a familiar brown cloth floating around. Even now, in the situation like this she somehow managed to feel shame. Mikasa wanted to cover her left upper leg, which was now exposed due to the current that made her skirt arise. But the worries about her bare thigh were swiped away as the force of gravity ceased to work and immediately after they touched the bottom, the flow carried them down the river.

Mikasa felt Captain strengthening his grip on her hand as they struggled to stick their heads on the surface to get some air. The water itself wasn’t deep, only about human height. However, the current was a problem: every time after they dodged a rock protruding from the bottom, the stream was knocking them off feet. And while they tried to find their balance again, the other obstacles were already waiting for avoiding them. Even if from time to time, the flow was throwing them out, they had very little time to inhale. That’s why almost every time they were filling their lungs not only with air but water too. 

The girl knew very well that they would have to get out on the shore at some point. But all their attempts to move towards the bank were unsuccessful since the current in the middle of the river was the strongest and it sucked them back into the depths. The river was merciless, it was playing with them as if they weighted no more than two leaves that fell into the stream.

They have been carried by the flow for quite some time when Mikasa tried to swim around yet another huge boulder on their way, almost half of it was sticking out of the water, it looked like a little wall in the middle of the stream. All their movements were coordinated, they didn’t need to talk in order to know in what direction it is better to dodge the obstacle. Until now, at least.

Mikasa began to move to her left because it was easier to avoid it that way, but for the first time Captain didn’t follow her. He pulled her by her hand towards him instead. She didn’t understand why he decided to dodge right because they surely won’t make it in time, they were already only a few feet away. Her heartbeat started accelerating when she noticed Captain not even trying to avoid the rock. 

Mikasa shook her head viciously at him when she realized what he was planning to do. This current, which was almost as fast as a galloping horse, could easily break their bones in the moment of collision with a boulder. They were approaching the obstacle insanely fast; it made her think about what part of her body should she sacrifice for the hit. The point wasn’t only not to fracture her bones, but also not to let go of Captain’s hand. She knew if the current separates them, it will probably carry them away one from another. Which will make the climbing out of the water even more difficult.

After thinking it all through, Mikasa was on the verge of turning around and take a hit with her shoulder when her superior grabbed her other arm and pulled himself in front of her. Captain did what she was about to do, however there was a difference between their plans. While she wanted them both to collide with an obstacle, he was going to take a hit alone. 

Anger and fear started growing inside her as the distance between them and the rock was getting shorter. Captain was in front of her, holding her arms with both of his hands, his back a foot away from the rock. She wanted to look into his eyes, to find a reassurance but since the current was constantly throwing them out and then back under the water, her vision became poor. 

Mikasa felt even more uneasy when Captain let go one of her hands a moment before the collision. The river played a cruel joke on them once again when the flow pushed them out of the water, thus making Captain’s back hit the solid rock with a loud thud. He clenched his teeth and let out a hoarse grunt of pain before taking a hold of the edge of the boulder with his free hand. 

Mikasa was looking for his eyes that were hidden behind the curtain of his black hair when the current suddenly pulled her to the left. She put her free hand in front of her to prevent her head from hitting the rock, however the moment later she felt Captain’s grip tightening as he pulled her back towards him. Thanks to that, she collided with him instead.

Even though his body was nothing of a soft, the only pain she felt was in her chin that landed on his collarbone. Her free hand ended up trapped between their chests somehow. With a plain of her palm, she felt his ribcage moving with his ragged breath. Realizing how inconvenient their position was, Mikasa tried to get off her superior, leaning on her hand but the flow that was constantly hitting her back, was pressing her down to him with such force, she felt nailed to Captain. 

The only part of her body she could move freely was her head because it was out of the water. Mikasa was very uncomfortable so she wanted to move at least her face a little further apart from his neck, but she bumped his jaw with the crown of her head while raising it up. She was expecting him to start bragging as the familiar cloth in the water touched their locked hands. Mikasa’s eyes widened with a realization; she looked over her shoulder only to see her skirt floating around them again. Her cheeks were already red as she once again tried to pull her free hand from between their pressed bodies but failed. However, it could not even compare to the colour her face turned when she realised her hip was pinned down to his groin. 

The girl started wriggling and managed to move her pelvis a little before she was forced to stop by Captain’s voice. “What the hell are you doing?”, he asked calmly, but she was able to notice a note of annoyance in his words.

She raised her head up, this time without bumping into his face. He was looking at her with his brow arced. “Nothing”, Mikasa answered angrily, cursing the river in her head.

His expression was as plain as always, although he was clearly worn out. He looked down at her, his steel grey eyes, reflecting the rays of the rising sun. He didn’t have that intimidating look of his on now. “Did you catch your breath?”, he questioned her.

It was the first time she had to look up in order to see his face. Her eyes involuntarily started scouting his features. “I think so”, she answered, still uncomfortable being so close to him.

Captain hummed, “We have to get out of the river”, he spoke and she felt the vibrations caused by his voice with her hand that was pressed to his chest.

Mikasa was fighting against the incredible force of the flow that was pressing her to his body as she replied to him, “I figured that much. But how?”. She was annoyed and embarrassed because she wanted to get off him so badly, although all her attempts were in vain. The girl was too exhausted to resist the current.

“Take a closer look around”, Captain said, his breathing was slower and much steadier now. “See those roots?”, he pointed his head towards the slant on the riverside. The stream washed out the soil from under the trees that grew on the bank, letting their roots float in the water.

Mikasa returned her gaze to her superior, “I am not sure we’ll be able to reach there to grab it”, she assumed. “Even if we push ourself off from this rock, the current won’t let us get close to the shore but throw us back in the middle of the river”.

“You are correct”, Captain said. “That’s why we are going to climb up and jump off this rock”, Mikasa saw him noticing her surprised expression and he hurried to explain everything before she managed to interrupt him, “The distance we’ll cover above the surface won’t be affected by the current while if we try to simply push off this boulder, the flow will mess us up the moment we let our hold of the rock go”.

Mikasa frowned at him, “That does make sense. However, I don’t know if we can climb up”, she replied, recalling all the efforts she put to get off her superior. “The current is too strong. I tried, but I can’t move properly”.

“Yeah, I noticed that”. If it wasn’t Captain, who voiced these words, she’d said he was mocking her. “You don’t have to move against the flow now, just try to climb up instead”, Captain said, releasing his grip from her hand. The girl got so used to his touch she forgot he was holding her wrist. 

Now, that one of her hands was free, she placed it on a rock near her superior’s shoulder and leaned on it, supporting her weight by the heel of her palm in order to push herself apart from Captain. When her upper body finally moved away from his chest, her other hand became free as well. 

She was thinking about the easiest way for her to climb up when Captain suddenly asked: “Can you do it by yourself?”

Mikasa’s eyes travelled from his face to his right hand that was still holding the edge of the rock, in case the current changes so that they are not carried away by it. “Yes. But I’ll have to lean on you”, she answered, wondering if he can support her weight.

“Just don’t lean on my right shoulder”, Captain said, grabbing the hold of a boulder with his other hand too. 

She was pressed against him by the flow but now, when both of her upper limbs were free, she had a better chance of resisting the current. Mikasa placed her hands on his left shoulder and the moment Captain realized what she was going to do, he moved his head to the right to grant her better access. She acknowledged his gesture by a curt nod and started pulling her body up, using his shoulder as a support.

Mikasa knew that pulling herself up under the pressure of such immense force hitting her in the back wouldn’t be as easy as on the bar but it was their only way to get out of the water. She was waiting for Captain to say something the moment she leaned all her weight on his shoulder but to her surprise, he didn’t. 

Despite the fact that it took her an incredible amount of effort to pull herself up, she did it relatively fast. Mikasa was thinking about her next move when Captain spoke: “Hurry up, if my hand slips, we’ll be carried away by the flow again”. She looked down only to see her superior holding both of their weights with his hands clinging to the rock. The girl wasted no time but kneeled on his left shoulder and grabbed the boulder with her both hands in order to climb up. 

The surface of the rock was slopped and bumpy but there still were spots where she could step. Mikasa somehow climbed up and after reassuring herself her stance is firm and that she won’t slip off, she crouched down. “Captain”, she yelled, offering him her hand. 

Her superior looked up, and a moment after he let his hold of a rock go, he raised his left hand towards Mikasa’s. The condition of his right shoulder worried her since the moment he sacrificed it in a collision but now wasn’t a right time to discuss it. He grabbed her hand and started climbing with her help. After the great amount of effort she put to pull him up, they were both out of the water at last. 

Mikasa was sitting on her knees, ruggedly breathing. “Damn, you are heavy”, she said, looking at Captain who was sitting right next to her since there wasn’t much pace on the surface of the rock.

“You are not the one to talk”, he responded not looking at her, water running down from his hair and clothes.

She looked at him angrily. His shirt that became transparent after getting wet, prevented her from saying something sarcastic to him. Realization of her shirt being made of the same material as his, struck her as a lightning. She quickly pulled her knees in front of her chest and hugged them with her arms. Although, that position didn’t help her very much since she was wearing a skirt. Mikasa let out a growl of frustration.

Captain shifted his gaze from the river bank to her. “What is it?”, he asked, rubbing his right shoulder with his left hand. Since he was sitting on her right, she wasn’t able to see his injured side.

“Nothing”, Mikasa said, trying to hide the pink colour of her cheeks. “Why did you do that?”, she asked, pointing at his shoulder.

His eyes left hers as he started getting up. “We have to go”, he said, ignoring her question.

“Right”, she followed his example and also got to her feet with her hands still folded in front. “Who’s first?”, Mikasa asked looking at the riverside.

“You”, Captain said, stepping aside a little. He gave her as much room as possible. 

Mikasa looked at her superior but didn’t answer. Now, that Captain moved, through his transparent shirt she was able to catch a glimpse of his right bicep. There was a huge bruise on it. She hoped that injury of his wasn’t serious but then she remembered how previously, when she was helping Captain out of the water, he grabbed her with his left hand instead of right. 

As she moved to the opposite side of the rock in order to gain at least a little amount of speed required for the jump, a question stuck in her head: ‘Will Captain be able to do it?’

However, when her gaze left her superior and stopped on the riverside, the other question came into her mind: ‘Will she be able to do it?’

Although, the distance was indeed big, Mikasa was sure she can jump that far. It was the roots that were bothering her. The fact that they were in the water made her uneasy because they could be rotten and therefore snap the moment she grabs it.

Captain seemed to have noticed her hesitation, “We have no other choice”, he said.

Mikasa knew that already, but hearing these words made her more composed. She nodded to Captain before she took a couple of quick steps and jumped into the water pushing herself off the edge of the rock. 

The moment her feet left the solid surface of the boulder, she was already sure she jumped far enough to reach the root. Mikasa grabbed it even before her body was swallowed by water. The flow was trying to carry her downstream but thanks to the root, which to her surprise did not snap, she remained in the same place. It was difficult to hold on since the current was incredibly strong, so only after she was able to grab the wood with her both hands, she turned her head back to look at her comrade. 

Captain, seeing her success, wasted no time and jumped off the rock too. Mikasa felt relief when she realized he also jumped far enough so that the roots were in his reach. He dived gracefully in the water right near her and then he grabbed the wood with his left hand. After seeing him success, she turned her head to the bank. Mikasa had already started pulling herself up in order to get out of the water when she heard a snap. She knew what happened without even looking. The root Captain was holding on to broke. 

She was aware of the difficulty of holding the weight of their bodies under the pressure of the current with only one of her hands, but despite all of this, her left had let go of the root she was holding on to without a hint of hesitation. 

Captain tried grabbing onto something but the current had already started messing with his balance when Mikasa somehow managed to grip his right wrist. She saw him grunting in pain when the flow carried him and made him straighten his arm. However, she had her own concern at the moment: the root began to slip out of her hand as she wasn’t able to hold the weight of both of them. 

Mikasa tried to come up with something when she noticed another root to the left of her. It was nearly as thick as the one she was holding onto. Although, it was out of Captain’s reach. She was about to tell him her plan when she noticed he was already staring at the same root she spotted. 

Without saying anything, she started pulling him closer to her in order for him to reach the wood. Even though the mass of his body was much lighter in the water, it was still difficult for her, especially holding on to Captain with only one hand and a current pulling him in the opposite direction. 

Her bicep had started to hurt when she was finally able to pull Captain close enough for him to reach it. The moment he grabbed it, she let go of him thus giving both him and herself the opportunity to seize the roots with their both hands.

Wasting no time, Mikasa began pulling herself up the root in order to get out of the water. It was not as difficult as it seemed and after a couple of capable movements her hands finally touched the soil of the river bank. Snatching the edge of the ledge she started climbing up and a few moments later Mikasa was at last standing on the solid ground. The first thing she wanted to do after her feet stepped on the grass was to lie down because she felt exhausted. Instead, she looked at her superior who was still in the water, struggling to pull himself up and wincing in pain every time he strained his right arm. Forgetting about her fatigue, Mikasa knelt without hesitation on the edge of the ground. She leaned on the heel of her right palm and offered her left hand to help Captain. He immediately accepted it and grabbed onto her wrist with his left hand. Unlike the last time, helping him out wasn’t that much of a problem since she had a better footing now. 

When both of them finally found themselves on the land, they sprawled on the ground out of exhaustion, one next to other. Mikasa was looking at the clouds as they were slowly passing by and listened to hers and Captain’s breathing between the sounds of the rushing river. She turned her head left, still lying on the grass. “I know I have already said that but…Damn, you are heavy”, she said looking at her superior.

His eyes were closed when she was speaking but opened up a moment before he turned his head to face her. They were close to each other, close enough for Mikasa to see the muscles down under his sharp cheekbones move as he spoke: “I owe you one, Ackerman”. 

Mikasa wanted to respond but she didn’t know what to say. Although, his words weren’t what people call the words of gratitude, it was still weird to hear that coming from him. 

Captain didn’t wait for her reply but began getting up to his feet. “We need to move”, he said massaging his right shoulder with his left hand. “Get up”, he ordered before started walking in the direction of the forest.

Looking at his shoulder made Mikasa remember the transparency of her own shirt. That’s why she didn’t say anything at first but crossed her arms in front of her right after she got up and followed her captain to the woods. “Why are we leaving the riverside?”, she asked, walking behind his back, “We left our kidnappers on the other bank so what is the point of hiding behind the trees?”.

“They are probably chasing after us, riding on the opposite shore of the river down the flow”, Captain said without stopping to walk. “Those bastards do not expect us getting out of the water. And even if they do, they would think we’ll climb up the same side from where we got in the river”, he explained.

The confidence he was talking with surprised Mikasa. “Why are you so sure?”, she asked, looking at Captain’s back. There wasn’t only one bruise on his spine anymore, but his entire right shoulder blade was also damaged to the point the greenish blue colour of his skin was visible to her even from under the fabric of his shirt.

“I am not”, Captain said. He stopped before saying next words, “It’s just a gamble”. He was quiet for a while, then he turned around to look at her, “It’s not that they’ll be able to do something if they see us here, on the opposite side from them. The main reason for us to get away from the river is to prevent them from seeing us walking not in the direction of the Survey Corps castle as they think we would, but towards the Stohess district”, Captain explain.

“It does make sense”, Mikasa mumbled frowning, “Because if they see us heading towards Wall Sina, they’ll probably be waiting for us at the entrance gate of Stohess. They’ll outrun us, they are on the horsebacks after all”. She voiced these words more for herself than for Captain, since he didn’t need the explanation. 

He nodded and shifted his gaze from Mikasa to the direction where they came from. “We have to go a little further into the forest, they’ll still be able to see us here”, Captain ordered before he started walking again.

“Nell was aiming a gun at us”, Mikasa recalled her memories as she followed her superior’s footsteps. “Do you think he was about to kill one of us?” she asked, staring at his back.

“No”, Captain answered calmly. “I assume they used their last tranquilizer to shoot our horse”, he said as they continued walking. “It turns out the man whose leg I broke wasn’t as stupid as Nell. It was smart to disable the horse. If there wasn’t a river nearby, we wouldn’t be able to escape”, he went on. “As for Nell, he probably wanted to shoot but he couldn’t mortally wound neither of us”.

“Why do you think it was the last tranquilizer?”, Mikasa wondered. She shivered when cool morning wind touched her dressed in wet clothes body.

Captain slowed down the pace, he was looking at their surroundings. “If they had two, they would shoot both of us. The same way they did back in HQ”, he explained.

Mikasa listened to him talking. She never gave a thought to how smart her superior actually was. Although, apart from his quick thinking there was his strength that amazed her so much. The injury on Captain’s back looked incredibly serious and yet he was able to break a grown man’s leg while feeling such pain in his spine. 

‘Intelligence and power. What a deadly combination that is’, Mikasa remembered Jean saying those words about Captain. She was always annoyed by the fact that everyone was looking up to that shorty. She was the only one who didn’t acknowledge him for a long time and hated when her squadmates were comparing her to him. Now it didn’t seem that much of a deal. Mikasa knew deep down inside something has changed in her regard towards him in the last few weeks. She didn’t want to admit it though. 

Mikasa was so deep in her thoughts, she didn’t notice Captain stopping and almost bumped into his back. “Why did we stop?”, she asked quietly, looking at the trees surrounding them from all sides.

He turned his head to look at her, “They won’t be able to see us from that far”, her superior explained. “Also, from now on we’ll be heading north right until we reach Wall Sina”, Captain ordered, “If we walk without stopping, we’ll be on a spot before sunset”. He then turned away and, as it seemed to her, started undressing himself. Again.

She felt her cheeks turning red when she saw him indeed taking off his shirt. Mikasa didn’t know what to do. Was she supposed to turn away or did Captain want her to examine his injuries again? She was shy to ask him directly so she voiced the first question that came to her mind at the moment: “How do we cross the river again once we’ll reach Wall Sina?”, she asked looking at him baring his shoulders. “I mean, the main road as well as the entrance to the Stohess is on the other side”, Mikasa continued. 

“There will be bridges over the river closer to the Wall”, Captain said looking at her over his shoulder. When his cold grey eyes met hers, she immediately looked away in embarrassment. “What the hell are you staring at, soldier?”, he asked calmly, though Mikasa was able to detect a note of irritation in his voice.

Her embarrassment grew bigger by every moment and she hated that. Not that she hasn’t seen topless boys before because every time she sparred with her male squad mates, most of them were shirtless and she wasn’t even paying attention to it. Yet she got shy every time Captain exposed a little more of his skin than he always does.

When she finally raised her eyes up, she saw Captain still looking at her since she didn’t answer his question. “Your shoulder”, she said. Mikasa wanted to lie to take his attention away from the real reason she was looking at him. “Why did you take a hit for both of us?”, she asked staring at his damaged shoulder blade, “There was no need of you alone colliding with a rock”.

“Tch”, Captain grunted as he completely took his shirt off. “If, by any chance, we’ll get attacked, you can still fight in full strength since you are not injured”, he explained after he turned around to face her. “Do you think it would be better if we’d both ended up being injured?”, Captain asked as he started to wring his removed shirt with both of his hands, water dripping on the ground.

Mikasa knew his face was as emotionless as always but she couldn’t confirm this since she unconsciously let her eyes drop lower to travel all around his torso. The girl was well aware she hasn’t been answering his questions for a second time now, she simply couldn’t help it. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, deep down she knew she actually liked what her eyes were looking at.

It seemed to her Captain said something, but she couldn’t make out the words. She had no clue what was the difference between him and all the other men she saw shirtless on the training grounds.

Mikasa was so carried away by looking at his muscles, she didn’t notice when Captain managed to put his already wringed shirt on the ground. It was his hand that pulled her back into thinking straight, since he placed it right on his belt. Realizing what he was about to do, she quickly turned her back to him. Her entire face and neck too, probably, were burning with shame and frustration.

“I was starting to think you’ll watch me undressing completely, brat”, Mikasa heard Captain saying from behind her back. 

She wanted to look at him and answer something sarcastic but the noise similar to unfastening a belt prevented her from doing so. “Why are you doing this?”, Mikasa asked, still embarrassed. “If you are trying to impress me then you should know you failed”, she bickered.

“Did I though?”, he said. His voice calm and husky. “You should do the same. Take off your clothes”, Captain ordered. Mikasa was stunned for a second and was about to burst out but he anticipated that saying: “Our clothing is soaking wet. It is better to wring it.”

“I…ehmm”, she knew he was right because the cold wind was making her shiver every now and then but she really didn’t want to undress.

“I am not looking. I turned away right after you did”, she heard Captain explaining himself. Mikasa knew he was saying the truth so she didn’t need looking back to assure herself. “I am not interested in you”, he added indifferently.

Mikasa rolled her eyes, she wanted to say she wasn’t interested in him either but that would just drag their quarrel further. And it wasn’t what she wanted so she silently went toward the thick tree right in front of her. 

She was finally able to uncross her arms after she made sure her whole body was well hidden by the trunk from Captain’s view. She took off her shirt and wring it as her wet hair felt sticky against her bare shoulders. It turned out the weather was not cold at all. The wind that was touching her arms felt chilly only when she was dressed in wet clothes. Now, while she was standing there without her shirt, it felt pleasantly warm.

Despite her not wanting to put the shirt back on, she had to do it. It felt cold and uncomfortable, although, at least the water wasn’t dripping out of it anymore. After she fastened all the buttons of her garment, she started taking off her skirt. When Mikasa bared her legs, she stilled. “What the hell is that?”, she asked loudly, looking at her left thigh. 

She heard shuffling noises and Captain voice following it: “What is it?”, he said from where she left him. He didn’t sound any different from his usual tone.

“I have a mark on my thigh”, Mikasa answered unsure. “Its not serious, but…”, she didn’t know if it was even worth telling Captain, considering all the major injuries he has.

“The fingerprints?”, he asked without letting her finish the sentence.

Mikasa froze. “How do you…”, she said but got interrupted again.

“That stinking idiot”, Captain explained, “Nell, or whatever”, he clarified. 

The girl was looking at the five round marks on her leg. She felt already uneasy but the answer to her next question could terrify her more than any titan was ever able to. She inhaled, trying not to sound scared, “Did he…”, she couldn’t bring herself to ask it. And she didn’t have to, her superior seemed to predict her questions.

“No”, she heard Captain’s hoarse voice, “He didn’t do anything else”.

Mikasa sighed with a relief. Although, she did not have confirmation of Captain’s words, she believed him. He was, perhaps, the only person who wouldn’t lie. 

“Hurry up, brat”, Captain said after a while, “We have a long way to go”. Judging by the sound of his voice, he was still on the same spot where she left him before she went undressing.

“Yes, sir”, she shouted while wringing her skirt. “How’s your back?”, Mikasa added when she was getting dressed already, “You are not complaining about it, as you were before”.

“Tch”, he growled, “It seems a cold water soothed the pain. I am able to move better for now”, Captain said with annoyance. 

Mikasa fastened the button on her skirt, crossed her arms in front of her again and went to where her superior was. “Well then, we should start going”, she told him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, guys  
> First of all, I am so sorry for not updating for such a long time. I was busy with school and work. And then there were holidays and I just became lazy af. Forgive meeee(((  
> Secondly, this chapter was sooo difficult to write. Daaamn, I was rewriting it for like 8 times. And I still dont like it much. It could have been better.  
> In my defense, though, I want to proclaim that this chapter turned out to be huge. So yeah, enjoy  
> Anyway, feel free to leave comments or kudos. Love yall.
> 
> P.S.  
> Your comments and kudos were really helpful. So thank you very much;)

**Author's Note:**

> About the title:  
> "Invicta" is a Latin word meaning undefeated or unconquered. Which refers to our beloved Ackermans ofcourse.


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